


Fear of Trying - Frerard

by greatpartie



Series: Fear of Trying [2]
Category: Death Spells, Frank Iero and the Future Violents (Band), Frank Iero and the Patience, Gerard Way and the Hormones, LeATHERMØUTH, My Chemical Romance
Genre: F/M, Frerard, Heterosexual Sex, Heterosexuality, Love, Marriage, Music, My Chemical Romance References, Oral Sex, Rough Sex, Sex Toys, Smut, Triplets, Unplanned Pregnancy, Vaginal Fingering, Vaginal Sex
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-05
Updated: 2020-01-05
Packaged: 2021-02-27 11:34:06
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 37
Words: 217,112
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22126432
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/greatpartie/pseuds/greatpartie
Summary: When two people feel a deep enough love towards each other, they can choose to make a baby together.  They wait nine long, stressful months to greet their new bundle of joy.  However, life doesn't happen that way for others. A lot of women or men, aren't able to have children.  From miscarriages, to hormone imbalances, it can be very difficult to process the fact a woman can't bear a child.Gee Way and her husband, Frank Iero, were more of the unfortunate ones. After a traumatic experience while trying to get pregnant, their relationship was on the line, but they managed to put it past them and return to their somewhat normal lives.An unplanned triplet pregnancy turned their entire world upside down. The pregnancy was not only a shock, but the start of a very eventful nine months for the Ieros. Careers were started, missing family members were found, and a deeper connection between the couple blossomed during those months. At the end of those months when Gee was able to meet the children she never thought she would be able to have, she was able to overcome her fear of trying.
Relationships: Frank Iero/Gerard Way, Kristin Blanford/Mikey Way
Series: Fear of Trying [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1592668
Comments: 2
Kudos: 16





	1. When The Fear Began

"I'm pregnant!"

Those are the two words that can change someone's future all together, a new life would be welcomed into this world after a long, painstaking, stressful, nine month journey. Some are excited beyond belief, while others could be scared, mortified even.

It's often hard to believe that a new life will be brought into this world, but once they're able to hear the baby's heart and see them on the screen, it begins to feel more real.

For others, it doesn't feel as real. They don't feel anything, for that matter.

Back in 2003, a future comic book author and musician fell in love. A world of ups and downs would be a head of them, but neither of them expected that.

After a brief falling out due to a break in the musician's life, the two would come back together like magnets. They were inseparable. While she was introverted, intelligent, and creative artistically, he was more extroverted and creative musically, like they were two imperfect puzzle pieces that fit perfectly.

Years would pass, wedding bells could be heard throughout all of Boston, New York, symbolizing the start of a chapter of their new life together as one.

The next chapter would be children, experiencing the joy of carrying a baby for nine months before pushing them  
Into this world, but that would be pushed further back due to a loss.

They would be be given a multi million dollar house, and a thriving business that sold vintage instruments, and a chance to make this man proud by giving him a great grandchild.

Weeks of countless rounds of fertility drugs, sex at the right time, would result in nothing but pure disappointment. The woman didn't her pregnant, even though she had the same symptoms of the first trimester, but were also the same as the side effects of the fertility medication.

They gave up and figured they would try again in a while, maybe it wasn't just the right time. But a night during the summer, of excruciating pain, tears and cold, dark blood staining the couch would reveal that the woman had been pregnant and had suffered a miscarriage, or spontaneous abortion.

Not only was she pregnant, but tests showed that her eggs weren't strong enough due to a hormone imbalance, to carry a baby to full term.

It was all surreal to them, never in a million years would they believe that they wouldn't have children. The woman didn't want children, she didn't want to get married either, but then she met him and everything did a 360.

They left the hospital with broken hearts and shattered dreams, one of a million that wouldn't come true. Not all dreams came true, but this was one they couldn't live without.

The woman got heavily into alcohol and pills, a relapse of how she was years prior.

Needless to say, a fight broke out in the household, it wasn't because of her drinking, it was because of why she was drinking. Her husband didn't want to see her in all this pain, and it hurt her to see him so upset.

She said that it wasn't good for them because of the miscarriage, and they can't have another baby, so she figured that him being with her was pointless and he shouldn't waste his time. She didn't want to adopt either, because it wouldn't be the same as carrying and growing her own baby, or surrogacy.

The adoption thing wasn't true outside of the situation, she thought all kids would be perfect for her and her husband, even the little boy who came to their house dressed as Bob The Builder every Halloween.

It hurt her incredibly to say those things, she loved him more than anything, but all he ever wanted was to have children, and she can't do that for him. Maybe, she thought, he would be better off with someone else, someone who could do the things she couldn't.

The cruel, four words spilled from her mouth with tears down her cheek. It felt likely was torn out of her. A divorce was proposed, that night, driving an even larger wedge in their marriage.

She never wanted children, she didn't want to get married either, but then she met Him, after a series of fortunate and less events. He wanted children, it was a plan he's had for years, ever since he met his wife, he wanted nothing more than to raise a family with her, and he would be damned if he let her go.

Months of marriage counseling, rocky days and nights, trying to become clean and sober, and coming to terms with this, they stayed together.

Strange how things can go so wrong, so fast. A dream they once had, crumbled by a night of despair. Their hearts empty and small, aching. They had dreams of having a family, hearing the pitter patter of little feet run around, feeling their small hands wrap around their fingers as they held them, but that was a fantasy now.

This would be her fear, three years later.

Her fear of trying.


	2. That One Night

SA: This story is a pregnant!gee story, obviously. And it's not going to be the typical wonderland of a pregnancy story, it's gonna have weird shit. But not too weird, I have boundaries that I will not cross. Like when things get too gross or tmi, you know? But I really don't want to see any comments about something being weird, because pregnancy is weird. ~~~

Gee Way, was a woman of creativity. She loved coffee, comics, cats, plants, and the list goes on. Raised in New Jersey with her father, Donald and brother, Mikey. Her mother passed away when she was only four, leaving her father to raise them as a single parent. Frank Iero, her husband, was a very creative man, loving all things dogs, tattoos bands and had the dream of perusing a career of being in a band.

Their relationship started off back in the fall of 1998, they were 17 and had the thought of marrying one another. But, it didn't go over so well. They were too young to be thinking about that, so they broke up for a good while, but reconciled months later. Years of rough patches, tragedies and good times, they've pushed through it.

They finally, after three years, finally settled in their new home, Frank now owns his family's guitar company, gaining Gee and himself fortune and a small following to the Iero name once again. It was a great thing to have, but the way they got it wasn't so great. Frank's grandfather passed, and he had entrusted Frank with the company.

Gee got a little thinner, not that she was chubby or anything, she was always quite thin. She now has a part time job of selling paintings online and her hair was dyed a raven black, something she enjoys very much. In all seriousness the whole painting thing is more of a hobby. She had an official job as a comic book writer as well, but no one seemed to take her ideas. Apparently the world just isn't ready for lesbian porno droids, no matter how adorable their storyline is or how well Gee draws them.

Frank on the other hand, his hair went down to his shoulders, his frame was a little bigger, but Gee loved it. She would still love him if he went bald and looked like a raisin.

The night - October 18th- wasn't particularly exciting. It was a long night for Gee, working on these paintings, sipping on a couple bottles of beer and listening to The Cure.

She passed out on the couch in her office, paint all over her hands. Frank went to the office for the day, doing his boring daily tasks and going to meetings. It wasn't quite how he wanted to spend his life; he wanted to be a mailman, or be in a band, but the business meant a lot to his grandfather, so he still kept it running.

Gee was awake to kiss him goodbye and hand him his lunch, as she did every morning.   
When Frank returned home, he went up to his room and cleaned himself up. He changed himself from the stuffy suit into a Metallica shirt and basketball shorts. He grabbed Mitch, their cat, and walked back down to Gee's office, where he laid the cat on her belly before heading into the kitchen to begin making dinner.

It's nothing special, a classic dinner of grilled cheese and tomato soup. Humming music from Frank's Ramones playlist plays in the background as he murders some tomatoes and plops them in a pot. A couple songs later, he carries the bowls and plates out to the living room, setting them on the table. As he's about to go wake Gee up, she came out of her office, groggy and starving.

"Hey, baby," he said, smiling as he went over and pulled her into a warm embrace, kissing her forehead.

"Welcome home," she sighed, voice heavy with sleep. Her arms wrapped around his torso, humming in content.

"I made us dinner."

"Fuck, I'm so glad I married you," she chuckles, kissing his cheek.

"I love you too. Do you wanna watch a movie?"

"Yeah. Can we watch the Labyrinth?"

He smiled, he certainly wouldn't be opposed to that. It's a popular movie in their household, next to Batman and any of the Star Wars movies. And that's what they did, they sat on the couch and watched the Labyrinth.

About halfway through their dinner, Mitch decided it would be a good idea to knock over Frank's glass of coke, somehow it spilled all over Gee's lap.

He never did that to Gee, only Frank. Probably because when they first got him, Frank would always put his foot under his belly and shoo him aside. He's more of a dog person.

But luckily, by the time he knocked it over they were just about done with dinner. So while Frank was in the kitchen cleaning up various tomato carcasses and other remnants of the passed meal (and in the living room mopping up soda,) Gee was upstairs showering off the sticky mess her beloved cat had created.

As Frank finishes cleaning, he decides to make he and Gee some tea. A good way to end a day- especially a stressful and boring one.  
By the time Gee was done with her shower and got herself dressed, the tea and the cleaning was finished. She walks down the stairs back into the living room where Frank resides, smiling lovingly as she saw her husband pouring hot water into two mugs.

"Hey, I made us tea."

"Thanks, love. You okay? You seem a little down," she asked, draping her wet towel over a chair before walking over to him.

"Yeah. Just work's stressful. I'm supposed to have a 8 page report in by tomorrow morning, and I really don't feel like sitting at my desk all night," he sighed, gasping softly as he felt Gee wrap her arms around his waist.

"I'm so sorry, babe. But you don't want to make Rob mad."

"I know. But I wanna spend that time with you," he huffed , hugging her tightly and kissing her head. She giggles a bit, the action reminding her of their college days. Frank has always been the romantic. Luckily the pot wore off though.

"If you want, I can stay with you while you work so you aren't so lonely."

"Really?"

"Yeah. I have to finish this drawing anyway."

"What if, we made both of our offices into one. So we can spend more time together. And sex, more sex is good."

"That would be fun. And a coffee maker, so we don't have to go out into the kitchen constantly."

"My God, I love you."

"I love you too. Let's go get started. I told this guy I'll ship his paining Friday so I have to hurry up. I'm gonna go grab my things and I'll meet you in there."

"Okay, cool."

Frank left to go to his office, and Gee went to her room to change before grabbing her supplies. She grabbed a black pleated skirt and one of Franks white business shirts. She didn't feel like dressing up, not one bit. But since Frank has been under a lot of his stress, and he takes care of her when she's under stress, she did.

She also sprayed Frank's favorite cologne on her neck, his shirt and chest. As well as a little lip balm because since it's getting cold, her lips are getting dry and lotion on her hands.

Once she was done, she began to head back down to Frank's office, with a quick stop to her art room to grab this dude's painting, her pencils and erasers, paints and a paint brushes.

The moment she walked into his office, he greeted her with one of those cat call whistles. She smirks.

"I wasn't expecting this, but holy shit," growing, he bit his lip and subconsciously dropped his pen.

"It can't look that good," she teased, setting her supplies on the floor.

"Wanna bet? Come over here and I'll show you-"

"After you get your work done, its more important."

"Oh alright. Thank you for coming in here, it really helps."

"Anytime,. It's nice drawing with someone else in the room."

"What are you drawing, exactly?" He asks, focusing on his computer screen.

"A picture of his daughter, her name is Melody, She's quite pretty too."

"How much more do you have to draw?"

"Hm. Just the banner of her name then-" She tries explaining, but is cut off by his phone ringing loudly.

"Who's that? Should I leave-" She asks, setting down her pencil.

"If you don't mind. I don't want you to hear me yelling at this moron if I do," he groaned, picking up the phone and placing his hand over the mouth piece.

"Oh okay. I'll finish this up in the kitchen, but I'll come back to check on you," she whisperEd, quickly gathering her supplies and walking towards the door.

"Alright. I love you."

"I love you too," she mouthed, she walked out of his office and gently closed the door behind her. She then took a deep breath and walked into the kitchen, setting her supplies on the little kitchen island, sitting on a stool, and began working.

Frank was still stuck in his office trying not to scream his head off at his nimrod of a co-worker, Jimmy, while Gee was in the kitchen drawing. Jimmy messed up everything, sending reports, getting coffee, even providing doughnuts to the office. Frank wanted to fire him so badly, he really did, but Jimmy was a kind man, and Gee was good friends with his wife, Chantel. By the time he hung up the phone, he was literally shaking and on the verge of crying over frustration.

Gee got slightly nervous when she couldn't hear him speak anymore. So she sits her paintbrush down on a napkin and quietly walks back to his office, seeing him with his head down on the desk and his hands on top of his head.

"Oh no. What happened?"

"Jimmy fucking deleted my 12 page report because he thought I already sent it in," he groans through gritted teeth, the need to cry poorly hidden.

Gee's eyes soften at the sight, "Oh my god, Frank. I'm so sorry. Come here," she sighs, walking over to his desk, hugging him tightly as he sat up and stuffed his face in her chest and wrapped his arms around her waist.

"I really don't wanna keep working like this. I miss my old job," he sniffled, nuzzling his face into her chest- innocently, may I add- "Why couldn't I have been a fucking mailman? And what happened to my dream about being in a band?"

"It's okay, you can still do that. Just maybe not now."

"But selling clothes online was easier than this. Now I have to put up with dickheads who can't file a damn piece of paper."

"Well, you have the right to hire new people. You're a good judge of character so I don't see why you wouldn't be able to find better workers."

"You have to help me, you're good with people. Plus you make great cookies and I think they'll be more comfortable if they have a cookie."

"Alright. I'll make cookies. Set the meeting up, but after your birthday so you aren't worried then."

"You're the best, you know that?" He sighed as she began to pet his hair.

"Shh, you're just saying that because your face is in my boobs."

"Yeah. But your boobs could be non-existent and you'd still be the best wife ever."

"Thank you?" She giggled softly, feeling him kiss her chest, "How about, I bring in a few blankets and your laptop and we'll watch a movie. Just so you can take a break before redoing your report?"

"That sounds wonderful. Can you bring popcorn too?" He asked, pulling away from her chest.

"Of course. I think we have a bag left. I'll be back, go change into something comfortable while I set this up."

"O-"

She rolls her eyes, "Put actual clothes on. Just because we live alone doesn't mean you can walk around naked, I like it, but our neighbors can see through your window."

"Fine," he huffed, standing up to kiss her cheek before they both head out of the office, each going in different directions. Gee was going into the kitchen to start the popcorn, then into the living room to gather a few pillows and blankets. Frank went up to their room to change into something more "comfortable," a pair of pajama pants and white t-shirt.

Gee dumps the popped popcorn into a bowl and carried it into his office, where she had placed two pillows against the front of his desk and a few blankets. She also grabbed his laptop and set up the movie "Sinister."   
Though, as she was looking for Netflix, she went into his search history because they watch movies often so it was easier to find it that way.

She found different travel sites linked in his history. She'd be lying if she said she didn't click on them. Surprisingly, the fields were all filled out, and it looked like he was setting up a vacation for the two, but it was super expensive. It was like $1,500 each night. It looked as if he planned for them to go to Paris. She was half expecting them to go to Italy, where they spent their honeymoon. It's not like they didn't have the money, they just didn't have the time. Stupid jobs.

"What're you looking at?" She heard Frank ask as he walked into the office, causing her to gasp, jump slightly, and click off of the travel site.

"Oh uh. Just the reviews for this movie. Come sit down," she coughed, moving over slightly so he can have room.

"What movie?" He asked as he walks over and sat next to her.

"Uh. Sinister."

"This should be interesting," he giggled, grabbing the bowl of popcorn.

"Yeah," she sighed, hitting play and setting the laptop on his lap. Frank then sat the bowl to the side as he pulled Gee close, so her head was rested on his chest as he rubbed her side

"Thank you for all of this. I really don't know what I would do without you." He hummed, kissing her head softly.

"I could say the same about you." She smiled, slipping her hand under his shirt so she could rest her hand on his chest and feel the soft hair.

"Why do you do that? Shove your hand under my shirt."

"It's warm and soft." She replies casually, tracing small circles on his chest.

"You're so weird. But if you get to do that.." He mutters, moving his hand from her side and under the shirt so he can cup one of her boobs, "I get to do this."

And that's how they spent the rest of the movie, with her hand pulling at his chest hair and his hand holding her boob. Eventually Gee brought out a bottle of wine. They didn't bother with glasses, they just drank out of the bottle, once again making them feel slightly nostalgic about when they first met.

About 20 minutes before the movie ended, Frank pauses it, sat laptop aside, and moves Gee over a bit just so he could kiss at her neck.

"What are you doing- that tickles," she askEd, ending her sentence with a giggle as his stubble tickles her neck.

"Shh..." He hushed, pulling his hand away and moving so he's straddling her legs. He returns to kissing her neck as his hands worked at the buttons of her shirt.

"But babe, you have to work on your report," Gee reminds him.

"Yeah, but it's not due for another 2 days. C'mon, lets fuck," he breathed out against her neck, beginning to grind down softly.   
She thought for a moment. Not because she didn't want to have sex with him, just that she had that painting to finish, then he had that report. But this may be the only time for a while they'll have the time to do this. So she did what her body wanted her to, and said yes.

"Okay," she whispered, grabbing onto the hem of his shirt and tugging softly at it.

"Seriously?" He pulled away, quirking a small smile.

"Mhm. Turn the light on, I can't see you."

"Fuck, yeah. Okay," nodding, he reached his arms above her and flicks his desk lamp on, then takes his shirt off, tosses it to the side.

"You have such a cute little belly," She cooed, running her hands along his slight tummy.

"No," he groanEd, his hands cupping her boobs through her shirt, "you have cute tits though."

She laughed then rolled her eyes, "so. How are we gonna do this?"

"First, I'm gonna go down on you," Frank started, Gee nodding, "Then we fuck. You know, the usual. But I want you to ride me this time, that's my favorite... position," Gee bit her lip before meeting her eyes with his and giving him a mischievous look.

"There's something I wanna do first. Stand up," she said, pushing him back slightly so she can sit on her knees.

"Wh-oh." He gasped slightly as he stands up and felt her tug his pants down so they're around his knees.

"It's been a while, and I really missed sucking you off," she smiled softly, soon leaning forward and placing kisses along the waistband of his boxers, while her right hand rubbed his semi through the fabric.

"Fuck," he groaned as arousal bubbled in his belly, his dick getting harder by the second.

"Mm," she hummed against him, looping both her index fingers on either side of his underwear, slowly tugging them down. The moment they were down, her hand was wrapped around him, pumping at a growing pace. Feeling him twitch as he grew harder under her touch.

"God. Fucking missed this," he humed, biting his lip as he laced his fingers through her red hair. She didn't say anything else, she just smirked up at him and replaced her hand with her mouth, starting off with licking a stripe up his dick.

"Shit-" He hissed, tugging softly on her hair as she began to suck softly at the tip. She slowly takes more of him in her mouth, just until her nose is nestled in his soft, dark pubes. Once she reached the base, she placed both hands on his hips as she began to move up and down.

"So good. Look up at me," he mumbled, tugging on her hair softly. She flickered her gaze up so she was looking into his sparking, lust-filled hazel eyes.   
She pulls off suddenly, though. Her hand continuing to jack him off as she leans down to lick a stripe across his balls. Just a few seconds after, she licks him from base to tip, quickly taking him back into her mouth. She sucks and swirls her tongue around the tip, occasionally swiping her tongue through the slit, earning a low groan from him in response. It soon escalated into her bobbing her head back and fourth at a quick pace as her hand moved moved up, grasped and massaged his balls.  
The room became filled with the obscene noises of sucking, slight choking and gagging, low moans, groans and whimpers. Moans build up in the back of his throat as she goes faster and he feels his tip hit the back of her throat, resulting in the pleasure boiling in his belly.

"Holy hell. Pull off-" He suddenly gasped, yanking her head back and pulling away.

"What's wrong?" She pants, a line of spit dribbling down her chin.

"I don't wanna come so soon, sugar."

"Oh for a second I thought I gave shitty blowjs," she said breathlessly, wiping her mouth.

"Yeah, no I just want to cum in my pants just at the thought of your 'shitty blowjobs'," he rolled his eyes, dropping back down to his knees.

"I'll take that as a compliment. I guess," she giggled as Frank presses his lips to hers, hands dragging his shirt down her arms.

"Where did it go?" He asked, attempting to take of her bra, but failing as there wasn't one.

"Why would I need to wear one when I don't have to? And it's been off, how haven't you noticed?"

He puts his hands up in mock surrender, "I'm not complaining. No one said you had to wear one when it's just you and I. And I really don't know, honestly. But that's not important, lay down."

"Babe, you know what gives you free range to grope Luke and Leia." She huffs playfully, laying back so her head is rested on a pillow.

"You named your tits?"

"It's easier to- wait can we call your dick a light saber? Please?" Gee pleaded. Frank initially laughed at this- before realizing the dead-serious look in her eyes.

"Uhh... I'd rather not be fucked with a light saber, so, no," he groaned , moving up to kiss at her chest and all the way down to her waistline. Leaving darkening bruises in the process. Once he reaches her skirt, he slowly tugs it down as he continues to kiss her belly.

"That tickles-"

"I bet. Wait. You planned this?" He asked as he pulls off her skirt, seeing a pair of purple laced panties.

"Nope. I can't wear boy shorts with a skirt. For your-fuck!" She gasped, feeling him grab her underwear with his teeth and snap it back against her skin.

"Enough babbling. But, are you sure you wanna do this here?"

"Yes. If I didn't, we wouldn't be half naked."

"Touché. Tell me when you're about to come, unless you can do it twice?"

"I'd rather come while being fucked."

"Mhm," he purred as he lowers himself down slowly between her legs, looping his inked fingers around the sides of her underwear. Before she gets a chance to say anything she's cut off by a soft whimper as she felt him remove her underwear and place a sloppy kiss to her clit.

"Oh god-" She gasps as she feels his finger trace around her lips, then hole, pushing in slightly.

"Wet already, hm?" He asked, smug expression on his face as the warm slick covers his finger.

"Can't help it, you sound so damn sexy."

"All because of you, baby," he winked, adding a second finger beside the first, spitting against her.

"Shit," she whimpered, hips bucking up at the odd sensation.

"Someone's loud," he teased, leaning down to lick a stripe up her clit as he crooks his fingers up, starting to pump them in and out at a growing pace. He traces his tongue slowly around her cunt, finding it's way back up to her clit.

"Frankie..." She panted and Frank moans, the taste of her on his tongue making everything spark and boil.  
He soon picks up the pace, crooking his fingers up as he licked and sucked, savoring the musky flavor. Gee's hands soon found their way into his long hair, tugging softly as her thighs clenched around his head and she rolls her hips. She's whimpering, moaning and letting out short pants. Lips parted as her chest rose and fell rapidly. He could feel her fluttering around his fingers as his motions sped up. He can tell she is getting close, she didn't even have to say anything. He can just tell by her body language. Just by the way her legs tremble, a thin sheet of sweat covers her fragile body, her mouth agape as her eyes sew shut, her soft hands tugged at his hair and her hole clenches and grows wetter around him- signaling a nearing orgasm.

With one last crook of his fingers and sloppy kiss; he pulls away and pulls her onto his lap, earning a loud squeak in surprise.

"You ready?" He panted, spitting into his hand and slicking himself up. Softly groaning as pleasure reignited in his abdomen.

"Wait, we need a condom-"

"Don't have any, I checked while I was upstairs."

"What if..I uh." She trailed off, a blush tinting her cheeks.

"You won't," Frank says quietly, looking away. He doesn't really want to reopen that wound. "Remember what Dr. Cahill said?"

Gee's face falls just a little bit.

Dr. Emmet Cahill was Gee's gynecologist/obstetrician. He had told them a few years back when Gee and Frank tried their hardest to conceive. He told them that it would be close to impossible for them to conceive, even with the strongest of hormones and fertility treatments, they would always get negatives. It was shown that her eggs weren't strong enough to form a baby. That also could explain her irregular cycle.

She did end up getting pregnant just before they were told they couldn't conceive, but that ended in a miscarriage.

So after they got the heart breaking news, they stopped everything and gave up.

Even now, though they can't conceive, they still use condoms. Just because anytime they don't, Gee still has a little bit of hope left, and when it doesn't work, it just brings her down.

But after it not working countless times, it doesn't phase her as much as it did.

After a while they forgot about all of It, though it was still a very sensitive subject for each of them, especially Gee.

So it's best not to mention it.

"Yeah, yeah. You're right. I'm sorry," she mumbled, her expression falling. She felt a lump in her throat as she recalls the memory- hospitals, needles, tears, blood... so much blood between her legs...

"Hey, hey. No don't cry. I didn't mean to-" He quickly apologized, cupping her cheeks and kissing all over her face, wiping away the tear that had reluctantly spilled from her eye with the pad of his thumb.

"It's okay. You forgot, I did too." She sniffled, shaking her head and kissing his lips gently.

"I'm so sorry, doll. I'll make you some tea and we'll just relax for the rest of the night, okay?" Frank suggested , sensing that the mood (and his boner) had gone pretty quickly.

Gee shakes her head slightly, "Don't you... wanna finish?" She gestures awkwardly to their naked bodies before blushing. It doesn't matter how married you are, sex is pretty awkward.

"Only if you want to, I just didn't know."

"No. It's okay. I shouldn't have gotten upset, it's in the past."

"I know babe. Just, if it gets too much for you, tell me and we'll stop."

"Okay." She nodded, kissing his lips gently. She starts to kiss harder, wrapping her arms around his shoulders again, lightly pressing their lower halves together. Frank smiles into the kiss, and licked his palm, reaching down to pump himself, to regain what had been a pretty painfully... erect... erection.

Once he was back to his fully hardened state, he motioned for Gee to lift her hips up.

"Oh my-" She gasped as he rubbed his tip on her clit, slowly slipping lower so he was positioned at her slick hole, her breath hitching as he began to push in.

"Fuck," he groaned, feeling Gee sink down slowly, the pleasure sparking in his belly as her tight cunt enveloped his cock. The wet warmth made his head spin.

She gasped loudly as she rests on his thighs, bottoming out. She waits a few seconds since it had been quite sometime since they've done this. The tip of his stiff cock brushing up against her spot. Not too soon after, she lifts herself up before slamming back down.

"Shit. Oh my fuck-." He breathed out, moving his hands down to grab her hips, squeezing them softly.

"Frank, fuck me. Please," she moaned, her hips moving quicker.

"Yeah. M' working on it," he mumbled, moving one of his hands from her hips up to her bouncing chest while she threw her head back. Her hands gripped onto his shoulders and he leans down slightly to kiss and suck at her breasts, creating darkening bruises. He traces his tongue around her nipples, basking in the noises she made.

"Frank- shit." She whimpered, her thighs beginning to burn as she bounced up and down on his lap. She grabs both of his hands and held them tightly, almost too tightly. Sex for them isn't... sex, it's romance of a sort, love, like it's supposed to be. So while she rode him and he basically made out with her tits, they held hands because they still wanted to be somewhat romantic.

Considering they were already on the edge at foreplay, and it had been a while since they've had sex, it didn't take too much for them to get there.

Gee was first to orgasm, with the added help of Franks middle and pointer fingers rubbing at her clit. Her back arched, her body trembled and her grip on his hand and wrist, became incredibly tight as she came, thighs burning as she clenched around him. That sight was just enough to send him over the edge as well. He threw his head back as his face scrunched up, letting out an almost growl. Spurt after hot spurt of thick, white come shot from his cock and into Gee, painting her inner walls white. Gee continued to bounce on his lap, ridding each of them of the aftershock. Finally, once they both came down from their highs, panting and sweating, Gee rests her forehead on his, kisses his lips and tugs on his bottom lip, slowly pulling off of him.

She moves over to to grab clothes, just Frank's boxers and blouse, as he still fought to catch his breath.

"You okay?" She asked as she finished buttoning up her shirt.

"Yeah, just give me a minute," he panted, kicking his pants off that still rest around his knees.

"Do you need water?"

"No I'm okay."

"Are you sure? I can go grab- Mitch!" She gasped slightly, seeing the grey tabby jump onto Franks desk.

"Oh, Satan's here," he laughed, voice breathless. He watched Gee grab Mitch, then lay down on the floor beside him, holding and kissing him. Frank is slightly jealous because Gee's little cuddle-fest with the cat lasted almost as long as their passionate sex romp did, but he's a little too tired to care.

"Hey there," she yawned, resting her head on his sweaty, tattooed chest.

"Hey," He smiled softly, grabbing one of the blankets and covering them.

"How're you feeling?"

"A lot more relaxed, thank you," he wrapped his arm around her, he rested his head on top of hers.

"It was my pleasure. But, you need to get some sleep because of that report."

"That's no fun. It's only 10:30."

"Yeah, but work is more important than staying up late."

"I love you?"

"I love you too. Now get some rest, I'll make us coffee in the morning. Goodnight."

"Goodnight. You too Mitch," she says, cooing at the sleepy cat on the floor. Frank rolls his eyes, petting Mitch's head gently, earning a purr and hand nuzzle in response.

They didn't mean to, but they were up for another hour in a half just talking, petting Mitch and cuddling. There wasn't a specific topic, no. Just random things. Half-asleep mumbles of half-formed words, but soon exhaustion caught up with both of them. Which resulted in them passing out in his office door, half dressed.

A night of peaceful relaxation quickly came to an end, one that'll be their last for some time.


	3. Not Just Halloween

Halloween, October 31st, All Hallows Eve, however it's said, is not only a day where children and adults dress up as various characters, items, or animals, but a day where a certain man was born on. In the Iero Home, it was never celebrated as something as bland as a normal holiday, it was a 2 in 1 party.

Frank was born on October 31, 1981, being one of the lucky ones to say that his birthday was on Halloween, he enjoyed the holiday even more. It was a day where he and his family would watch horror films, eat unreasonable amounts of candy while still dressed in their costumes.

The tradition lasted up until he and Gee got married, and the family split apart as Anthony moved to L.A. with his boyfriend, Milo to pursue acting careers. But, he and his wife made new traditions, they would go to Frank's mothers house the night before, so that Frank, Linda, and Gee all went out to Frank's favorite diner to celebrate his birthday, then would return to the Priccolo household for the evening, maybe go to a Halloween party that a friend held, but usually they liked to stay in and carry on some of the traditions.

Frank and Gee worked at the family company that sold vintage instruments, but due to a recent decision, they chose to rehire a new staff in order to boost productivity, so they had a lot of work to finish up in a matter of two weeks.

They would spend long, agonizing days cramped in their offices, typing away on their old, barely functioning computers, some nights they wouldn't leave until it was almost midnight, They ran background checks on all of the applicants, faxed papers to the other employees, and called the approved applicants with the date and time of their interview.

Their employee's didn't do much work, they were all elderly and couldn't move around real well, those factors contributed to the decline in revenue lately, and if things were to continue like this, Frank would have no choice but to shut down the company, but he wanted to keep it alive for as long as he could for his Grandfather.

Since Halloween was a national holiday, they would've expected to have the day off to relax for a while, but they had to get caught up on their paperwork that the fellow employees failed to complete, fuckin' Deloris. Frank never liked her, solely for her name. Back in the day, she did her job very well, but he always wondered who the hell would name their child Deloris.

Aside from Deloris, the fact that Frank and Gee had to pull and all-nigher at work that night, didn't stop them from celebrating Frank's birthday in a not-so family friendly way, but that didn't happen quite yet.

The day, October 30th, began with their usual routine of getting ready for the office. They dressed in suits that screamed big baller, and wore matching ties, both black with white stripes and a gold tie clip. Their hair was fixed in a, filled with grease kind of way, shiny and slicked back.

They rushed to eat breakfast, Frank poured himself a massive bowl of about four different types of cereal, while Gee took a tube of mixed berry yogurt from the fridge, along with a to-go cup of freshly brewed coffee. She sat against the counter, eating her yogurt and minding her own business, but a gloom look from Frank caught her attention.

"Who pissed in your cornflakes?"

"It's just, I won't get birthday sex tomorrow, like we'll either be at Ma's house or cramped up in that smelly old office building, and I'm not getting my dick sucked while my mom is in the next room, or while I'm in a room that smells like stale coffee and prune juice." He said as he wiped his mouth with a napkin, beads of milk in his mustache and beard.

"Unless, we pull a quickie in Deloris' office, she'd never know, she's like a corpse sitting in her chair. I swear that I saw a fly buzzing around her."

"Ha!" Frank snorted, almost choking on a cheerio. "I mean, maybe we can do something in the car. Oh, I've been dying to try out this new toy I bought, it's a ring that goes around me, and like, it vibrates."

"Holy shit. So like a cock ring, but it - oh my god, where is it? Fucking bend me over the counter right now, my god."

It was a little tattle, but when sex is talked about between them, neither of them could take it as a joke.

Without another word from either of them, Frank stood from his seat and ran out of the kitchen, hyper like a puppy with a new toy. He bolted up to their bedroom, hands digging through his nightstand frantically trying to find the little package.

With a pack of boysenberry lube in one hand, and the package found with an "Aha!", in the other, Frank left the room with a rapid heartbeat and a brain slowly clouding over with lust.

He was just nearing the end of the staircase when his pager went off, sounding almost like the doorbell to Hell.

"God dammit! Fuckin' cockblock." Frustrated, he stomped his foot and threw the packs to the ground.

It like even the smallest things, like having sex with his wife, using the bathroom at his house, or even sleeping, was ripped out of his hands by that job and dangled in front of his face like a toy, one that he's wanted for so long but still had to bust his rump, and for what? absolutely nothing.

Gee felt the same, she had no time to work on her personal career, sleep, or even walk peacefully without hearing some sort of talk about stock, or the business.

Despite all of the negativity that came from that seemingly cursed building, some of the best things came from there, but they all stemmed from Frank's Grandfather's warm, loving heart.

However , they both knew that once the staff was changed, their lives would be simpler and not as hectic, and they wouldn't grow any more grey hair. They were only 28, they didn't want to spend the rest of their lives in an old office building.

Gee heard him groan in annoyance and anger, followed by a couple of deep breaths and steps closer to the kitchen.

"Jen cockblocked me, again. I was this close to popping one but no, she had to page me."

"And I was just about to take my clothes off, bummer." She sighed as she tossed the empty plastic tube into the trash.

"I really miss being able to bone whenever we wanted, now it's like we're on a strict schedule."

"Maybe this is why Deloris is so bitter, she hasn't gotten laid in ages. Poor soul."

"Hey, so I'm going to take my car, I'm going to pick up some snacks for the two of us, so we won't have to leave the office for Burger King, and Kelly wants to meet with me really quickly, but I'll meet you at the office, only like an hour or two later."

"Or, are you going to the shelter and adopting a puppy because tomorrow is my -"

"Goodbye, I love you, Frankie." She interrupted him with a kiss, one hand held her coffee and the other held her briefcase. "I'll see you soon."

Frank snickered as she strutted out of the kitchen, he watched her walk into the hall, stop and pick up the two packs he dropped-threw on the floor. She whistled as she slipped them into her bra, then walk away like nothing happened.

For the first time in a very long time, Frank was very excited to go to work. His wife had just sneaked sex toys into her bra, instead of kicking them aside of taking them up to their bedroom.

He wondered why she wanted to take her own car, too, like she just got gas a couple of days ago, he knew that because he was with her. Maybe she was stopping at the sex store to pick up a new pair of lingerie, or better, a new sex toy. He had a double ended dildo in mind, he'd kill a man just to see Gee use one. He wanted to look at her, all sprawled out on the bed, dressed in black silk -

No, the thoughts, the lustful thoughts of his wife crept into his mind, oh how he wanted to think endlessly about them, to give into his mind and pleasure himself to the thoughts, to give himself that euphoric feeling that followed an orgasm powered by the images buzzing through his head.

All of the sexual frustration that had been pent up for the past six months, threw itself in front of the train inside of his mind, crashing and stopping any of his thoughts.

The gaze trailed down along with his hand, down his torso. His tattooed digits scrunching the pearl white shirt as the tension grew, slowly pulling it from its tucked, neat look.

He was stuck in his lustful daze, where what he did beyond those, seemed like his body was on autopilot, almost like sleep walking.

"That's it." He groaned to himself, absentmindedly unbuckling his brown leather belt, pulling it away from his body. The black button was undone, and zipper was pulled down, he shoved his hand into his pants to stroke himself from the outside of his grey boxers.

He felt some resistance, like his mind told him that it wasn't the right time, but he wanted to do this, because Birthday sex was out of the question, and they wouldn't have time to do anything at his mothers house, worst birthday ever.

As he stood there, getting himself hard while he thought about his wife with a dildo in between her legs, he didn't pay attention to the front door, or anything else for that matter.

"Frank, honey, I forgot my keys." Gee peered her head into the house, looking around for her keys that might have fallen onto the tile floor. They hung on the hooks next to the door, she snatched them in her hand with a sigh.

"Never mind, Mouse, I found th-"

"Ugh, fuck." His moan bubbled out of his throat, echoing through the kitchen, to the hall, and into her ears, making the hair on the back of her neck stand up.

The noise was all too familiar to her, a sound that could have her underwear off in mere seconds, but the only thing that held her back from going into the kitchen and dropping to her knees, was life, and the fact that she had errands to run that pertained to her own career.

She really had to leave, but that was not the end of this, she'd make up for that later on, maybe even, an early birthday gift for the birthday boy.

"God dammit, Deloris!" Frank snapped pas he slammed his folder closed. "I told you, I needed the Solano account, not the Simpson account."

"Mr. Iero, you told me the Simpson account. Bernie heard you."

"Bernie?! Bernie doesn't even work here, he's a fu- Just, go back to work, I'll fix this." With his hand being used as a headrest, Frank pointed to the door with his other.

Deloris left his office, but not before leaving a few wrapped butterscotch candies on his desk. He hated butterscotch, yet he didn't say anything, instead he turned to his computer.

He spent hours trying to fix Deloris' mistake, after all the Solano file is huge, as Emilio is their biggest client.

Gee would have been there to help, but her meeting with Kelly went longer with expected, people just kept coming in and out of the room, discussing the best brands to sign to, or which selection of her comics she should send in, just as a little taste.

Kelly, her agent, wanted her to send in an old cartoon's framework, but Gee was not real crazy about the idea.

"Kelly, I don't think that the frame work for The Breakfast Monkey is good enough. I mean, I wrote that when I was still in college, and worked for Cartoon Network."

"Miss.Way-"

"Mrs. Iero."

"Right, Mrs.Iero, Children love cartoons, and I think that putting this out there where children will watch it, will get their parents to see it and wonder who the hell Geralynn Iero is."

"But, I don't want to do children's television shows, I want to be a comic book writer, that's why I signed with you."

"What if you rewrote some of it? So it's more focused on the superhero, space, alien vibe you work with." Kelly pushed, even though she knew that The Breakfast Monkey wasn't something that Gee was real proud of. "C'mon, I know that this will put your comics on shelves."

Kelly and a number of her assistants leaned closer to Gee, all with this look on their faces that dug right into her soul. She might have been sitting on a shitty, uncomfortable office sofa, but with the looks that were given, and felt cornered, like rewriting The Breakfast Monkey was her only ticket to pursuing her dream, but she didn't want to be known as the woman who wrote a cartoon about a monkey, she wanted to do what she wanted.

"Kelly, no. I'm not rewriting that shitshow of a project, I write comics, not cartoons."

"Mrs.Iero, we're just doing what we think is right. You just need to trust us, just this once."

Gee looked at her with a look that said no, that she was done with this meeting and would figure this out on her own. She stood up and evened out her black skirt and tie.

"Thank you for everything that you have done, Kelly. But I'm going to do this on my own now, I'm sorry."

"Wait, we will figure something out-"

"Here's the deal, I will send you a comic, and you can send that to the publishers that you have been talking about instead of the cartoon, or I'm going to do this in my own, but now, I have to go to work, my husband and I have work to do."

Gee took her briefcase and left the conference room without another word. She didn't like being tough like that, but years working at a major company like the Marbella, seemed to make her attitude more...bitchy. But she didn't want to have that reputation.

After she left Kelly's office, she headed towards the Marbella, but with a stop to a place that was very familiar to both of the Iero's, before she went in, she sent a message to Frank.

"Hey, Mouse, just got out of the meeting."

F: "how did it go? I bet you kicked some ass."

"It was a disaster. Remember that one cartoon I wrote for Cartoon Network back in college?"

F : "The Breakfast Chimp?"

"Yea. Kelly wanted to send that to DC comics as the staple in my portfolio, but I told her that either I send her a copy of the Umbrella Academy, or I'll do it by myself."

F: "that's my wife! I'm so proud of you, Gee! Fuck Kelly."

"I still need to write a new edition of Umbrella, but my bones are trembling with excitement. Hey, also, make sure that the 6th floor is empty by the time I get back."

F: "Deloris and Benjamin are the only two left, everyone else clocked out early , as usual. Why, babe?"

"You should get back to work, mouse, I love you, I'll be back in 20. Xo."

Frank knew exactly why she wanted everyone gone, so he was quick to send out E-Mails to the people who worked on the 6th floor, aka people who could easily hear them, damn hearing aids. It's like they had supersonic hearing, they could hear a pin drop from a mile away.

But once he was sure that they both left, he dimmed some of the lights in the office, closed the blinds, and turned on some "mood" music, sex music basically. He pulled two bottles of Miller Lite from out of his desk, and sat them on the top of his desk, a bottle opener between them.

He counted down the minutes from when she last messaged him, and it was already about 35 minutes, fifteen minutes late. He stared down at his phone, patiently waiting for a text or phone call to come through from her.

The minutes seemed to pass by like hours, slowly turning around the clock. Then it became an hour and a half, ninety agonizing minutes since she had last contacted him.

He cracked open one of the beers, but right as he went to take a swig, there was a knock at the door, more than likely Gee. He allowed her to come in, only after he fixed his hair and straightened out his tie.

Gee walked in, wearing a black fur coat that was tied in a bow, heels, and black fishnets, dressed to the nines.

"Hey, Frankie. You busy?"

"No. But, where were you? You told me that you would be back here almost two hours ago." His voice stern, and his eyes dark and worrisome. "Gee, I tried calling you, I got really scared."

She sighed, falling into that dominant role, despite Frank's argument. She moved closer to him, slowly as she untied the ribbon on the coat.

"I know, but my phone died. You know that I would've called or texted you. I'm sorry for worrying you, I think that I can make it up to you- actually, no, I can't."

"What's happening?"

"Do you want to see what is underneath my coat, baby?"

She said in a purr as she walked over and sat on top of Frank's desk, legs crossed. Then she reached over, took one of the beers and brought it up to her cherry red lips, sipping slowly.

"Oh, yes. Take it off for me, baby."

"You see, Frankie, you've been a bad boy, jerking off before work. When I could've been there, tasting you, pleasuring you, but you were a very bad boy."

"How did you-"

"Shh. Sit back and drink your beer, my love." She handed Frank his beer, kissed his cheek then leaned back. Then their eyes locked as she slowly took the jacket off, exposing her pale, bare shoulders.

The jacket was then pulled away from her body, revealing a set of blood red lace lingerie that pushed up her breasts, making them appear larger, black fishnets that highlighted her delicate legs. He noticed that she smelled strongly like paperback, with a slight note of liquor, scotch maybe.

Frank's eyes scanned over her, his mouth watered and his heart raced, craving a taste of her sweetness. His hands squeezed at the arm rests on the chair, the urge to touch her, pleasure her, to have that woman below him, moaning and trembling as he passionately made love to her, slowly became unbearable.

"Do you like what you see, baby? I bet you want me to take it off, don't you?"

"Yes, please, take it off."

"Uh uh," she tutted in a scolding way, slowly getting off of the desk and down to her knees in-front of him, her hazel eyes staring up at him. "You were bad, I don't think that you can get what you want right now, but I know how you can make it up to me.."

"H-How?" His breath hitched as she ran her hand over his crotch, then moving to his belt, gently unbuckling it.

"You see, Sweetheart, I picked something up on the way here, would you like to try it out?"

"Yes." He gulped, nodding. His eyes followed her as she reached over to her coat, pulled it off of the desk and dug around through the pockets, soon pulling out two pairs of silver handcuffs.

She bit her lip as she looked over at him with dark, eyes that had a mischievous glow. Before Frank could think twice about what he agreed to, his wrists were being cuffed to the arm rests of his chair.

"Oh my god- holy shit. That's fucking hot." He sucked in a breath, almost a gasp. "What happens now? You gonna fuck yourself and make me watch?"

"Hush now, or else I'll have to gag you, and I want to be able to hear your pretty noises."

"Sorry." It was a mutter under his breath, looking down at her with a blush to his cheeks. She only snickered in response, nothing verbal.

Gee finished unbuckling his belt, unzipped and unbuttoned his pants and shuffled them down his thighs, revealing the tan, inked skin. She kissed over the lump within his boxers, her tongue traces over the curve that could be seen through the fabric,

Her hands slowly moved up his thighs, tracing the pads of her dainty fingers along the hem of his boxers before looping them around the waistband, tugging them down with every flick of her tongue.

"Mmm." He hummed in satisfaction, palms became sweaty as all the blood in his body went between his legs, hardening his dick as it was pulled from the confinement of his boxers,

She gasped a little as she pulled him out of the garment, licking her lips. "So big, Frankie."

It was a praise as she licked over the tip, she flattened her tongue to lick a stripe over his cock, tasting him and the slight bitterness from the small amount of precum that leaked. He groaned and grasped at the hand-rests of the chair, sucking in a deep breath as he grew harder.

Her hand curled around the base of his dick, allowing for some stability as she licked over the vein that stood out the post, swollen and flowing with red hot blood. She slowly sunk down, closer to the base, her throat relaxed as more of him slid between her lips.

"Suck my fucking dick, that's right." He grumbled, chest rising and falling as he looked down at Gee with a piercing, lust filled gaze. She looked up at him through her long eyelashes, eyes shimmering as the sunlight reflected off of them.

She bobbed her head up and down slowly, twisting as she moved. She felt him become increasingly hard against her warm tongue.

Frank's skin felt very sensitive and hot, like a single touch would send him over the edge, hypothetically.

Gee continued to blow him for a while, with one hand on his thigh and the other stroking him as she sucked, obscene wet noises echoed through the office above the music.

"Uh, oh, oh-fuck, I'm so fucking close, Gee, I'm gonna cum-"

She hummed, then pulled off with a pop, a string of saliva and precum connecting her lips to the swollen tip of his cock. "Good."

Then her hand went to his cock, stroking quickly, she bit her lip as Frank squirmed in the seat, racing for the orgasm. He let out a high pitched moan and furrowed his eyebrows together, bucking his hips up.

With one last stoke, Frank was cumming, yet Gee didn't continue to jack him off during his orgasm, she took her hand away right as he began to cum.

He moaned and thrashed around, his knuckles turned white from gripping on the chair. He didn't feel satisfied, it felt like his orgasm didn't end, instead it went on, causing his cock to turn a crimson red on the now overly sensitive skin.

"W-Gee, my boner isn't going down-" he wheezed, the pressure between his legs quickly taking control.

"I know, it's called a ruined orgasm, baby," She smirked, using her pointer finger to scoop up a bit of the white fluid that pooled on his shirt, then her finger was lifted to her mouth, lapping the cum up like frosting. "I saw it in porn once, and it's pretty fucking sweet,"

"You should consider yourself lucky that I'm attached to this chair, because it's taking everything in me to not break these stupid cuffs and fuck the daylights outta you."

"Who said that you would stay tied down? Unless you what to be." It was a taunt, yet her voice stayed calm, calm enough that it was almost concerning, the hair on be back of Frank's neck stood up like a TV antenna.

He was physically excited, yet slightly scared of what she might have up her sleeve. She grabbed a set of keys and unlocked the handcuffs, smirking as she eyed the red marks on his wrists from the cuffs. It was only seconds before Frank stood up, picked her up and placed her on the desk with such force that the glass would shake.

He spread her legs apart, grabbed a hold of her panties and ripped them off of her, splitting in half. He tossed the ripped garment to the floor before placing his hand between her legs. Ha ran, tattooed finger was placed on the top of her cunt, softly rubbing in tight circles.

"God, such a perfect little cunt, soft, wet and begging to be fucked." It was a purr, their eyes became darker as every second passed by, the lust overcame them like a sheet. "Do you want this? My hands on your cunt, then my mouth, then maybe, my co-"

"Fuck yeah." She said before he could even finish his sentence, "I'd love nothing more."

That was all Frank needed before he brought two fingers up to his mouth, coated them in slick saliva and brought then back down to her cunt, circling around her hole momentarily before plunging then into her, snickering as she gasped quietly.

Slowly, he pumped his fingers in and out of her core, crooked and aimed towards her g-spot that was often hard to find. He looked into her eyes with a piercing gaze, watching every emotion that was held captive behind her eyes that could only be seen with such concentration.

He saw the concentrated lust behind her eyes, sparkling and shining but slowly became darker as it spilled out. She let out little pants and gasps as he moved faster, using his thumb to massage the swollen pink bud that was rested just atop of her cunt.

"Does that feel good, darling?" Leaning closer as he whispered into her ear, his scruff scratching her pale, flushed cheek. "You know it does, maybe I should use three instead of two, I know that you can take it."

"Oh god, yes, please. Do three, I fucking dare you." She said through gritted teeth, her gaze locked with his. With one last snicker, Frank took his fingers out and sat on his leather chair, rolling towards her but then he leaned down so his mouth was just in front of her sweet cunt. His hands took hold of her thighs and spread them apart, his tongue darted out and licked at her clit, basking in he soft gasp she let out at the contact. Then, his tongue dipped down further south, he licked a stripe over her labia, then went back up to her clit where he licked and sucked.

Three fingers were plunged into her cunt, angled up so they would press against the spot that ignited nearly every nerve within her body. His tongue flicked at the pink bud as he slowly moved his fingers in a back and forth motion. He kissed the bud, nibbled and toyed with it, tasting the sweetness that he had grown to adore and savor.

She sat on top of the desk, one hand had gone to his hair, tugging and petting at the soft brown locks, she could feel the heat that radiated off of his scalp, along with the scent of sweat that traveled up to her nostrils. Her lungs felt like they couldn't get enough air, constantly gasping and panting like a fish out of water. Her thighs clenched, he could feel her muscles tightened up when he did something that she liked, he used that as a guide to know what she liked. Her fragile, warm heart pounded in her chest, against her ribs, almost breaking them into millions of pieces.

A warning of closeness was choked out, and Frank pulled away with a satisfied hum, his lips slick with cum and saliva. He reached to the desk, taking hold of a package that contained a toy he has been dying to try. It was unwrapped, and fitted over the aching limb that stood out from between his legs, lipstick red , throbbing and leaking like a faucet.

A button was pushed on the side of the toy, bringing it to life as it shook like a leaf in the fall, nearly falling from the tree and to the ground. He dropped his trousers to where they were around his sock clad ankles, revealing everything that Gee wanted to see, taste, and feel.

"Are you ready, doll? Is this what you want?"

"Fuck yes, oh god."

"And who would I be to not give that to you? Just relax, sweetheart, we're far from over."

And he wasn't wrong, the next day would have them both sore and hazy. The papers on his desk went to the floor, soaked in sweat and spilled beer, as well as the rest of everything that was once rested atop of the desk., including the mug that had "Worlds best husband" painted onto the front, was on the floor in about a hundred pieces. It was just the start of al of the festivities planned for his birthday.

It wasn't until the early crack of dawn that they left the office, messily dressed with their bags thrown over their shoulders. They drove to Frank's mothers house to carry on the Iero birthday shenanigans, but there was a note on the door that read :

My dear son, Happy Birthday! Last minute plans came up with an old friend, and I am due to spend the night with them, but I will meet you at the Waffle Spot at around 11:45 A.M., so go up to your room and make yourself cozy, we have a long day ahead of us.

Remember, bring your costume to tonight, it's a very special occasion. XoxoMom

It wasn't how Frank wanted to start his birthday off, he wanted to be in the warm home with his mother and her pups; but things come up. He took the spare key from underneath the plastic frog on her porch and unlocked the front door, the house felt cold and unwelcoming, the dogs were upstairs sleeping, his mom was gone at a friends house, he was exhausted, but he looked at the bright side, he'd be out with his favorite people soon, he had his wife, and he might be getting a dog, what else could be so special about the night?

He noticed that her bedroom door was locked, he didn't try to barge in - but she never kept her door closed, it wasn't like she had a drawer full of BDSM toys that she didn't want anyone to find out about, or she hid a care package full of puppy stuff, leashes, bags of food, scoopers for poop, all of that stuff that you'd need for a new puppy. He passed out on his teenage bed alongside his wife with the idea that he'd be getting a puppy for his birthday, he probably would've stayed awake thinking about it, but exhaustion just overcame him as soon as his head hit the pillow, the lack of sleep just caught up to him. Gee as well, she passed out with only a blouse, her underwear and one stocking on, looking like she just came home from a one night stand, but she was too tired to even think about undressing herself normally.

It seemed like they slept for hours, plastered to the bed, paralyzed in their sleep and unable to even move their toes, it was almost like they hadn't slept in a week, but in their defense, they had worked around the clock, and Frank's birthday was the only day they've had off in two weeks.

They swore that they heard some people giggling and walking around, but it was assumed to be apart of their dreams of random sequences underneath the olive green plaid sheets. The sunlight crept through the black curtains, creating sun spots throughout the room, specs of dust could be seen swirling within the beams of light.

It was a nice start to the morning, waking up next to one another in a warm bed, with the day clear of anything important to do, just a day to celebrate a holiday and a birthday.

"Good morning, birthday boy." Gee whispered, her eyes closed and voice low and thick with grogginess. Their hands were tangled underneath the sheets, loosely attached as their muscles weren't quite in the groove this early. She leaned closer to him and kissed his noise, eyes opened slightly.

"Mornin." He replied, moving closer to her, their noses brushing together.

"How're you feeling? Considering you're a year further into your life."

"Like a new man, like I was re-birthed in the middle of the night."

"I swear that I saw a UFO outside of the window last night, maybe the 27 year old you was abducted, and the aliens put a 28 year old you back into the bed." She suggested, brushing a piece of his hair behind his ear lovingly. "Is that a grey hair?"

"What?!" He shrieked, "Where?"

"It's like, right there." She said, taking hold of a small chunk of hair that was highlighted with a strand of silver tinted hair. "You may be getting grey hair, but I still think that you're the sexist motherfucker that I've ever seen. Why don't we get ready for breakfast, yeah?"

"Noo." He groaned, the "o" being drawn out in a whiny tone as he snuggled closer to Gee, his arm wrapped around her as a way to keep her from getting out of bed. She giggled and sighed, looking into his hazel eyes. Neither of them would want to move for the rest of the morning, they laid in the comfort of Frank's bed, basking in the warmth that the sunlight brought in.

Despite the fact that the morning didn't start off with sex, Frank thought that it was one of the most comforting mornings that he has had in quite some time. It was only the start of the events to come, followed by an afternoon of pancakes, waffles, and wholesome conversations with Linda. Frank loved seeing her that day, she seemed like she was glowing almost, she had this aura radiating off of her that could make a million grumpy men smile, a look that Frank hadn't seen in years, right before Anthony and his dad left, she was the happiest woman on the Earth.

Regardless of what was new in her life, whether it was a boyfriend, new job, whatever, Frank was happy that she was finally on the right path to happiness. He didn't want to let her go as they hugged a farewell right before they left for Mikey's Halloween party, she wouldn't be attending, she had a date with Mr. Who that night, but she wouldn't be missing out on whatever the special part of the party was, no, she already knew, thank's to Donald, the man who always ruined surprises and couldn't keep a secret.

Unlike normal Halloween nights, there was a party. It was held by Mikey, and his new wife, Kristin. They were married for about a year before making the decision to start their own little family.

Kristin was oblivious to what had happened to the Iero family, regarding the miscarriage and their rare chances of conceiving a child, so she didn't think twice about inviting the two to the party that was not to celebrate Halloween or Frank's birthday necessarily, but to announce her pregnancy.

She was already three months along, but she wanted to wait until the blended family would all be together, and the closest holiday would be Halloween. A small part of her felt bad for taking the light away from Frank, but this was a pregnancy, but it was something very important to herself and Mikey. When Frank and Gee arrived to the house, dressed in their Ralph from Target and Home Depot costumes, slightly intoxicated prior to Kristin and Mikey sitting the family down in the living room.

Too many cans of Miller lite and shots of tequila, rum, and a bit of whiskey, Kristin, dressed in her Minnie Mouse costume and Mikey, dressed in his Mickey Mouse costume, called the gang into the family room, the excitement nearly pouring out of their mouths. Kristin was most excited, holding a little pink envelope with a date on it, "May 2010". Without a word, adding to the growing suspicion in the room, she lifted the flap on the top, revealing an ultrasound photo of a baby girl.

"Surprise! It's a girl. Her name will be Rowan Louise." Kristin exclaimed as Mikey popped a popper, pink confetti scattering across the hardwood floor with a bang.

It was only a matter of minutes before the room filled with cheers, the atmosphere was a cloud of pure joy and happiness, from everyone in the room, love poured from their chests and onto the newly expecting couple, Donald would be getting his first Grandchild, as would Stacey and Randy, it was truly a happy moment.

Frank and Gee? Well, they were excited, of course they would be, the events of 2007 were pushed to the back of their heads for once, the moment was above everything else that once mattered to them. Though, that wouldn't last very long, as the other three-fourths would make their appearance, almost like a projection in Gee's head of that night, reminding her of what could happen, but she wouldn't know that for quite some time, until then, let's celebrate Kristin, Mikey, and little Rowan as she continues with her journey into this world.


	4. The Last Page

The past, contrary to what some might believe, does not stay in the past. Things from ages, or even two hours ago, can creep up on you and create a disaster, It's almost like leaving a pot of soup on the stove, leaving and assuming that it will be fine, only for time to remind you that it's not okay when the smoke alarm blares through your house and the air reeks of burnt tomato soup, and whatever you might've done, should be relived.

It sometimes doesn't work that way, it could be for the better, a familiar face could pop up and bring the most joy to the world, but could also paint it a horrifying picture. Time, more specifically the past, works in mysterious ways, and the most careless,small actions, can make a disaster in the future. It's out of our hands, wither the future holds something good, or bad, it's almost like a game Is of Russian roulette.

Two years ago, after a crashing of the clock, Frank and Gee came out of it wobbling, wheezing, and covered in bruises that weren't on their physical body, but on their soul. It seemed as if time was out to hurt them, like there would be no future that they could easily see, their past would sneak up on them and leave a bittersweet taste in their mouths.

Slowly, like a storm creeping over the horizon waiting to pour, their past blanketed over their present day lives. It showed in minor things, nausea, morning sickness, and the typical symptoms that they once failed to recognize. A little voice in the back of their heads whispered that this was something that shouldn't be overlooked, but they drowned that noise.

"That's impossible, there's no way." Frank insisted. His hand spread out on his temple as the other held the phone to his ear. "Are you sure, Jen?"

Jen, better known as Jennifer, was his assistant back over at the office. After weeks of mentally and physically preparing, the day where they'd rehire a new staff finally came around, but before the official day would arrive, Jennifer had to call him with some unsettling news. Instead of the small number of fifteen people, it skyrocketed to about thirty, far more than he was expecting.

"I don't know if I can handle that by myself - no, no, she's fine. Gee, she's just a little under the weather today, but I guess it's that time of the year where everyone in the universe gets sick." He sighed as he leaned back in his seat, the leather chair squeaking and creaking.

Gee heard him say that as she walked past his office, with a stack of canvases tucked under her arm and a bottle of Budweiser in her hand, but she didn't say anything to correct- no, contradict him, instead she shook her head and went across the hall to her office, preparing herself for a long night of drawing, painting, and planning out further pages for her portfolio.

It was something she was accustomed to, being a struggling comic book artist and all, she worked and worked, yet many companies turned down her unique style. While Frank would be in his office, typing up paperwork and spreadsheets for hours, she would be in her office drawing various comic characters that she's created, such as Spaceboy, Mother Panic, and others that weren't like another.

Though, with this major step for the company, finishing up her portfolio was at the back of her mind, in her mind, Frank and the company was far more important, and he needed someone by his side during this time and she couldn't leave this void so she could draw spandex on comic characters. She saw finishing up comic books as more of a hobby than a potential career, as she's been turned down so many times that she saw no light at she end of the tunnel.

But that doesn't mean that she gave up on pursuing her life long dream, she thought it wasn't the right time.

About twenty minutes later, and a failed attempt at convincing Jen to push the interviews off for another day or two, the phone was hung up, leaving Frank an anxious mess.

He was scared of changing the office, as nothing has changed since his grandfather passed and handed him the company, but he needed to do what was right for not only the company, but for his grandfather. He felt fully responsible for what would happen to the company if he didn't change some things, he still wanted it to thrive even though his grandfather wasn't there.

He had to bite his tongue, just until Michael would be able to return to New Jersey. It would only be a matter of days until good ole Mike would be back to Jersey.

After Frank shut down his computer and put his briefcase together, he left his office and strutted over to Gee's. He poked his head through the sliding door with a sleepy smile.

"Uh oh, what shenanigans is Spaceboy up to now? Is he blowing up the moon?"

"He's uh, he's not doing anything now, actually. I'm kind of stuck, but fuck it, I've been working around the clock, even though it's so fucking fun to do, I just need a ten minute walk, and a cup of Lindsey's tea then I'll be fine."

"How about, you and I go into the kitchen, sip some magical tea, eat some goodies, discuss the plan for tomorrow, then we go upstairs to watch a couple of episodes of The Office? I'm sure we can use a chuckle."

"I'll meet you in the kitchen, I want to try to finish up the last page of the script, hopefully." It was a groan of frustration, but with an underlying sense of hope. She wasn't one to give up, but it felt like she was being pushed beyond.

Before Frank left her office with the new task of making tea, she stopped him.

"Hey, Frankie?"

"Yea?"

"Who cares that I've been a little sick lately, I mean, I don't mind puking now and then, but I'll be there tomorrow, it's really nothing. Actually- if I was In a human centipede with Escape The Fate, I'd still walk my asses over to wherever you are."

Frank knew that she would be there for him, no matter the circumstances, but he didn't want her to puke all over the table in the room. But, she was probably right, it was just a little food poisoning or because of the weather change, she'd be better by morning. He shook his head, snickered then left the room, he lit a cigarette as he walked down the hall, heading towards the kitchen.

The stench of cigarette smoke traveled its way into Gee's office, the aroma seeping into her nose. The scent brought back a craving for the cancerous flavor of cigarettes, one that she tried to forget about, but she would always have the constant craving for a drag. For that reason, she kept a box of cigarettes, and matches in her office with a strike pad glued to the top, easily accessible for times like this.

A match was struck against the pad, sparking a flame on the tip, then a white and tan cigarette was lit and placed between her lips. She took a long drag from it, her eyes closed as the craving slowly subsided, it relaxed her when she was stressed, which is why she couldn't give them up completely, but she tried.

She left her office with the cigarette between her lips, and the pack in the front pocket of her worn out, silk pajama pants.

Frank was found standing next to the island as he poured boiling water from the kettle, into two black mugs, one had an "F", and the other "G". He looked up as he sat he kettle to the side, smiling as he saw Gee walk in.

"Choose your poison. I mixed a few of the teas Lindsey brought over and created a magnificent flavor." He said, gesturing to the mugs that contained different blends of tea.

He took a hold of the one with her initial and held it out for Gee, the ceramic burning his hand. She took the cigarette out of her mouth and pinched it between her fingers as she held the mug, inhaling the herbal aroma of the tea. She raised it up to her lips and took a small sip.

"So, what do you think I mixed? How does it taste?"

"It tastes like somebody stole my wallet."

"So close! It's green tea, boysenberry, chai, and ginger. I think it tastes pretty dope." He shrugged, taking a sip of his own poisonous tea mixture. "Anyway, I think we should go over what is going to happen tomorrow, so like, we're prepared and shit. I brought my folder, everything inside just covers the basics."

"Okay, can I grab a snack first? I would kill for some hummus."

"Totally, but I'll be stealing some, just sayin'." He said as he pulled out a couple of papers from his folder, arranging them neatly on the counter top.

Upon bringing over the snacks, Gee sat next to Frank at the island as they went over the game plan and snacked. It was a well thought out plan, beginning with the rehiring, getting rid of the old geezers that worked there since Frank was a boy at the age of 7, and that was almost 23 years ago, it's time for a change. Then, they'll advertise their company differently, acquire a new ad and spokesperson, once that was taken care of, they would hand the company over to Michael and finally go towards their true careers.

It seemed a little far fetched, or not developed enough for it to be a realistic goal, but that wouldn't stop them from trying to pursue the things that they've worked so long to achieve. Frank still wanted to be in a band, or a mailman if that plan failed, and Gee didn't want to give up on her comic book dream over some music company.

With that in mind, they both seemed to be excited about the plan, knowing that there was still hope for them in the end to be what they wanted, even though it would take more time than they anticipated. it would be worth it in the end, though.

"Wait, this doesn't make sense." She said as she pointed to a sheet that had a list of names on it, each with a time next to it and number. "What?"

"Okay, so, see the time next to Nicole's name? That's the time her interview is scheduled for, and the number, well is the number of her application, since her number is 24, she'll be the 24th person to have their interview."

"Yeah yeah, I got that, but it says that there is only 8 pages, when it says 8 of 9. There's not another page, I don't think there is?"

"Oh, yeah, it got stuck in the printer. Then it came out all crumpled and torn, nothing important wasn't on it though, I counted all the names and it matched the number that Jennifer told me, she has a copy of them too, just in case something were to happen to my copy."

It was an old printer, the same printer that he's had since his college days. Somehow, it lasted up until he was almost thirty, but it had been showing signs that it was time for Frank to get a new one, as shown within the printing malfunction. Thank god for Jennifer, even though she screwed things up sometimes.

Though, Frank was wrong, it did match the number Jen told him, but somehow they both missed the name that was written in New Times Roman font on the page that neither of them got a chance to see. It was a familiar name that Frank couldn't have missed, someone he and Gee both knew very well, almost too well. They both promised to never talk about him again, or have any connection to him whatsoever, but with their names in the media as one of the main distributors of Instruments in New Jersey, it was hard for him not to find them.

It was on the last page, the page that got caught in the printer hours prior, that Frank didn't think to double check. He and Jen had the same number because he faxed the already printed page to her, so neither of them had a clue of what was on that last page that he believed to be blank.

It was a choice that they made years prior, when Gee made the choice to become clean and somewhat sober, they vowed to not speak to this man again no matter what. The cost of it would catch up to them, only within a matter of time.

The night ended with them sound asleep on their bed, their minds lax for what would be the last time in a while, there was a countdown just ticking away. When the alarm would go off, their world would come crashing down.

The stars sparkled in the sky, through the window and the moonlight shined into their room. The crisp, cold wind howled in the sky, tree leaves rustled and fell to the ground like a feather. It was a calm night both outside and inside of their home, Mitch was curled on the chair, dozing off as he purred. He gazed over at the bed highlighted by the moon, seeing one less person under the sheets, the woman Frank slept next to nearly every night.

She escaped the bedroom around 5:30 A.M., this ache in her stomach and an overwhelming craving for dill pickles, almost like she needed it to survive the night. She found herself in the cold, empty kitchen with a jar of pickles in one hand, and a fork in the other, crunching on the pickled, seasoned cucumber spear. Somehow, as she ate nearly an entire jar of pickles, she got this sudden wave of inspiration to finish the script.

Normal folks at 6:00 A.M. are either sleeping, or getting for work, well Gee, she was working on a comic script with a jar of dill pickles to her side. It was like she was on fire, every word seemed to spill out of her and onto the paper like vomit spilling onto the cement on St. Patrick's Day.

By the time the clock struck 8:30 A.M., she had over three pages written and some small sketches drawn. The jar of pickles was empty, but her mind was full of ideas, hundreds of ideas on how this story could go, it was almost like her ideas had ideas sprouting off of them.

She had about three cups of coffee by the time Frank came down, fixing his tie as he walked down the hall. His hair was still messy and matted, bags under his sleepy eyes and his shirt untucked, he had that look like he rolled out of bed after a long night.

Frank went to her office, sending a warm 'good morning' to her, along with a kiss and warm embrace. He saw the work that she accomplished throughout the night, from the newest words written in ballpoint pen, to the rough sketches of the various characters in action. He felt this overwhelming sense of pride towards her, seeing that she has gone so far from a geek that read hundreds of comics, to a bigger geek who writes her own comics. He suggested that they skipped the interviews to go out and celebrate, but she told him that they could after, and the time at the office will go by quickly.

He walked out with a huff, and they both went up to their bedroom to continue on with getting dressed in monkey suits that made them look neat, trustworthy, and stern, almost in a Christian Grey kind of way.

Upon getting dressed, the female in the marriage noticed something quite odd about her body, her chest to be exact. She couldn't quite pinpoint what was different, it was just something slightly off, to which she assumed that nature was just taking its course as it did every month, or in her case, scattered across the year.

Though, Frank didn't complain about her body being enhanced in some places, but he didn't point it out, he just absentmindedly stared at her in the mirror as she put eyeliner on. He looked away when he saw her look at him, a pink blush rose to her face and she smiled shyly, seeing him stumble a bit out of her corner of her eye. It was almost like they never grew up, and their high school selves lived inside a body that was twice their age.

They continued on with getting ready as normal, Gee finished earlier than he did and went downstairs to start the car, after getting a cup of coffee in a to-go cup as usual. The keys were snatched from the end-table that rested right inside of the home, her leather shoes squeaked on the linoleum floor as she walked out of the home. The air outside was musty, thick, and sticky, yet there was a thin breeze that seemingly cut through the thick blanket of humidity.

Orange, red, brown, and yellow leaves crunched on the ground as she walked down the concrete path, leading into the cobblestone driveway in which her car was parked. She played a Nine Inch Nails cassette as she waited for Frank to come out, her fingers tapped on the steering wheel to the beat of The Hand That Feeds.

The younger male soon came out, lugging a black leather suitcases in one hand, as the other straightened out his striped tie. He popped the car door then climbed in, buckling his seat belt and placing the suitcase on the floor. The windows were rolled down, seat belts were buckled, and cigarettes were lit. The conversation on the way to the office, which was about 45 minutes away from the Iero residence, was focused on reviewing the last few things they needed to remember to get through the day.

They stopped at their favorite coffee shop, ordered some coffee and bagels. However, the cashier wasn't paying attention to those on the register, so when the coffee and bagels were set on the counter in front of Gee and Frank, Gee grabbed both of the cups of coffee, Frank grabbed the bagels and casually walked out of the shop like they had paid for the coffee and food, and no one noticed, a barista just wished them a good day and continued on with his duties of making overpriced coffee drinks.

Frank couldn't believe that Gee got away with stealing two coffees and bagels, which was easily around $15 is you chalked up the prices. He wasn't quite sure if he was more proud, or shocked that no one pointed out that they smuggled them out the door, but it gave them both this rush of adrenaline that had the power of 10.5 Red Bull energy drinks, just the boost that they needed to get through the tortuous morning. All the way to the office building, Frank wouldn't shut up about the crime she committed, but in a way that was humorous, as usual.

"Fuck, I can't believe that you did that!" Frank exclaimed, "Looks like Bonnie and Clyde are making a comeback, in the shitty year of 2009."

"Hah! They're exactly why I did that, they're my heroes." She said in a obviously sarcastic tone, but with a genuine snicker. "Maybe I'll steal a puppy next. You think I could fool the hooligans at the pet store into believing that not only that I don't have a puppy in my shirt, but that I'm nine months pregnant and ready to pop?"

"I'm so proud of you. Like for real, this is the proudest I've ever been of you. I have the best coffee, bagel, and puppy stealing wife ever." He said, nudging her with his elbow as they walked into the building, clutching onto the lukewarm cups of coffee.

She rolled her eyes at him and giggled, her cheeks tinting a cotton candy pink that burned in a way. It eased the little bit of stress that still rested within her, and for a short amount of time, she had forgotten why she was stressed in the first place, as did Frank. At least until he got up to his office, where he was instantly reminded of where the stress came from.

"Two more weeks." He mumbled to himself, counting down the days until he would finally be free from this confinement of where he had nested for years. A note waited for him on his desk, from Michael, the man who would be taking his place, accepted the offer and would return in just a few days to begin training once again.

Though, he wasn't quitting, yet at least, he was just going to work out of the office for a while as a break to get on the right track again. Not only was he taking a break, but he arranged for himself and Gee to go on a little weekend getaway to France, something that was long overdue.

He had a little ceramic Eiffel tower on his desk as a reminder that he should toughen up and push though these last few weeks, because the end result with him and his wife in one of the most beautiful places, makes it all worth it.

The older lady was on her way down to her office, which was a floor below Frank's. She kissed Frank's cheek lovingly, told him that everything would be just fine and she would be in her office in case he needed anything, she was quick to leave the office as the interviews were just on the brink of starting.

As the elevator dinged and the doors opened, a call came ringing onto Gee's phone. It was Lindsey, a close friend of the Iero's, more specifically Gee. They met in art-school, Lindsey was Gee's roommate and since then, it's been nothing but history.

Lindsey wanted to swing by and pick Gee up so they could catch brunch, but Gee didn't want to leave in case Frank would need her assistance at some point during the interviews. Though, that didn't stop Lindsey's persistence, she offered to bring the food to the office building, or go to Gee's favorite spot for brunch, but Gee again said that she didn't want to leave Frank alone. With enough bribing and sweet talking, Lindsey managed to get Gee to come out to this place that was just down the street, so if Frank needed anything, she would be close.

A note was scribbled onto a post-it note and stuck to her desk, in case Frank were to need her help or something. She took her briefcase, sunglasses, and pack of cigarettes and slipped out of the office. Though, she didn't lock her office door as usual, because she knew that she would be back unlike most days.

"Mrs. Iero, are you leaving?" Jennifer asked, noticing the woman walk past her cubicle. "Should I let Mr. Iero know?"

"Yes I am. But I will be back in less than a half hour, no need to alert anyone, plus I have it taken care of." She said quietly, voice laced with confidence. Jen didn't have a place to question anything, so she just nodded and went back to work, allowing Gee to walk over to the elevators.

The elevator ride was as any other was, boring and filled with this annoying tune of consistent elevator music, sounding completely bland and the type of thing to cause one's ears to bleed. The ground moved in the same stomach turning way, everything always seemed to be the same, at home and at the office, where every day was the exact same as the last, the same smells laced in sour, moldy air. The coffee tasted the same, calls were made at almost the exact same time every day, the only thing that seemed to break that chain of events that spiraled, was the man waiting at the bottom of the elevator.

He was dressed in a Gucci suit, his black hair combed in a professional, sleek look. Black sunglasses hid his dark brown eyes that were lined with dark circles, the man obviously tired. He had a newspaper in his hands, using it as a prop to look as casual as he could, but he did peek up often so he didn't miss the woman he was waiting for. But she didn't notice him, she just made her way through the crowded hallway, never looking back.

As soon as the coast was clear, he went into the elevator and pressed the button that matched the floor Gee worked on.

Gee walked down the sidewalk, her striped scarf blowing with every breeze that passed through the town, crisp and signalling an oncoming winter. She could see Lindsey's focus parked outside of the cafe, complete with the infamous batman sticker stuck to the back window, along with the Blair Witch stick figure. Lindsey wasn't sitting in the car, she was probably sitting in the cafe with a basket of doughnut balls and a cup of scolding hot, lightly sweetened tea.

The doors set off a little bell as Gee pushed through them, a wave of cold air, the scent of freshly brewed coffee and baked doughnuts hit her all at once, almost taking her breath away. She could see couples sitting around the cafe, chit-chatting, typing away on their computers, writing, or sipping on their outrageously overpriced mochas, cappuccinos and lattes.

The short black haired woman was spotted sitting at a booth, with a basket of those damn doughnut holes and an iced coffee, exactly how Gee expected. The younger lady made her way over to where Lindsey sat with another lady.

"Aunt Gee!" Bandit, the youngest of the trio exclaimed, looking away form Lindsey to stand up, run over and pull Gee into a tight, unexpected hug around the waist. Gee gasped slightly, but the shock value died down, then she reached down to pick Bandit up and kiss the child's cheek, resting the girl on her hip. "Lady B! I missed you."

Lady B, Bandit's alter ego. It was a nickname Lindsey came up with when Bandit was fresh out of the womb, and it's stuck with her for the past 5 years.

"And what am I? Chopped liver?" Lindsey said, her feet kicked up on the wooden table, her muddy combat boots in anyone's face that passed by. Gee snickered and stuck her middle finger up behind Bandit's back, not letting the little girl see. Lindsey retaliated and stuck hers up, along with sticking her tongue out in a childish way.

They both giggled and rolled their eyes, hearts warmed at the small interaction. Gee then sat at the booth with Lindsey and Bandit, with the little one on her lap. Bandit played with her small, chocolate brown teddy bear that Lindsey brought with them, while Lindsey and Gee caught up on little things that have occurred since they last were together. Everything from Kristin's newly announced pregnancy, to the interviews that Frank was currently holding.

Lindsey already knew about Kristin's pregnancy, as both she and Mikey announced it on Twitter with a picture of cotton candy pink baby shoes, complete with the caption "Can't wait to meet you!", and she knew about what was taking place just up the street, so basically Gee told her old news. Lindsey had new things to tell, like how her tea business was going well, and she would have new blends for the Iero's to try.

Gee could listen to Lindsey talk about her apothecary for hours on end, like there were endless combinations of herbs to make tea, and alternative medicine, it helped Gee stay off of hardcore drugs years back, it took a while, but it was a safe, natural alternative to what she was doing, because if she continued, she would either be dead or in jail for not only doing the drugs, but doing things for the drugs that are frowned upon in the eyes of the law. It was one of those aspects of her life that she wasn't proud of, but she was much happier and healthier now.

When the basket of glazed and sugar dusted doughnut holes became nothing but a grease soaked sheet of parchment paper, and their cups of coffee were nothing but a ceramic mug with the scent of stale, cold coffee, Gee told Lindsey that it would be best if she went back to the office to make sure that Frank was doing alright, but she and Bandit could chill at her house and they'd have dinner together. Bandit was more excited than anything to visit Gee, and play with Mitch. Lindsey was excited too, because the nights where she'd stay over would usually consist of a night of Dungeons and Dragons, Candy-land, and endless cans of diet Coke.

So with a quick goodbye, Gee left the cafe and jogged back to the building. Oddly, she was more winded than she usually would be running up a street, and this weird pain could be felt in her lower back, it was a moment that she stood there, frozen as this little thought went through her mind, almost like the flicker of a lightning bug that would quickly die out into nothing, resulting in her shrugging her broad shoulders, taking a deep breath and continuing on into the building.

The lobby was a little busier than it was before she left, but that was expected as about 40 people were coming in for a meeting with Frank, only God knows how many people Frank has interviewed so far, and how many were left. Her phone buzzed as she stepped off of the elevator, a text from Frank coming through. He told her that out of 8 people, only two of them were hired, and he still had a long list of people waiting downstairs, but he said that he should have everything taken care of, and she should head home as he would be there for a long while, probably even into the evening. She insisted that she should stay, in case anything were to go wrong but he didn't want her to, instead he wanted her to go home, kick her feet up and work on what was her job. Again, she said that she would be fine staying, but then Frank brought up the idea of a little R&R when he got home, too, and she couldn't turn down a night of fun with him, so she just threw in the towel and told him that she'd pack her stuff.

While in there, a fax came through. Two pages began printing out of his printer, the first page was the same page he had on hand with the list of names that he had on his desk, and the last page with the name of the man that brought this gut wrenching feeling. For a moment, he was scared, but he talked to Jen, gave her a description of the man so she could look in the lobby, but he wasn't there, which gave Frank this feeling of relief, knowing Gee was safe.

The door to her office was cracked, nothing out of the ordinary as she didn't lock it, and the doors were old, creaky, and always got stuck in the door frame. A sigh left her mouth as she pushed the door open, everything was just as she left it, except for the man in the grey suit, sitting at her desk.

"Matthew Cortez." She muttered under her breath, her stare glued to him. "How did you find me? I left you behind in New York, 3 years ago."

"Geralyn, I think we both know why I'm here." Matthew Cortez said in a menacing tone, his hands folded on his lap. "Sweetheart, your husband and his company was all over the paper, ads plastered on everything, how could I not come and surprise you?"

"Don't call me that. I'll give you whatever you want, just leave, please-"

"I can't do that. You want to know why?" His tone darkening with every word that was spoken, he slowly stood up from the chair and walked closer to the woman, backing her into the wall. "In 20 minutes, I have an interview with your husband, and with my perfect resume and background in sales, I will become the new face of the company."

"How much money do you want? Is that why you're here?" She said, frantically digging through her purse to grab her check book with shaky hands.

"Oh no. I'm here for what's mine, and that's you." He then grabbed her shoulders, and slowly pushed her against the wall, restraining her. "I know you want me, and the little baggies of powder you know I have."

"No, I do not. I'm married and clean now, I'm sorry." She wasn't sorry, Matthew was one of the worst people she has ever met, he was this shady drug dealer that she slept with numerous times in order to get drugs. He was the part of her past that resurfaced to remind her of who she used to be, drug addicted, dirty, and suicidal. She was much better now, but Matt didn't like that about her, this huge company, she was thinner and healthy looking, he wanted to see her beg for drugs, sell herself out to him for little baggies of cocaine that would last her only a couple of hours.

He filled with bubbling rage, words couldn't explain how angry he was with her. But before he could act upon it, he reached over and locked the office door with a click.


	5. It's Really Not Your Fault

"Miss, can you explain to me why you're here? It'll help further our treatment." A nurse dressed in baby pink scrubs asked, looking down at her chart.

"I told you, while doing rounds in the office, I tripped down the metal stairs and got all banged up." Gee said, running her tongue over the gash in her lip, tasting the copper flavored fluid.

"Are you in any pain?"

"Slight. My abdomen hurts like a bitch, must've twisted something or whatever."

"Okay, we're going to do a urine test to rule out any internal bleeding. It might just be a bruise, but we just want to be - ma'am, are you alright?" A gag cut off the nurse mid sentence, the woman who sat upon the table turning white as a sheet of cloth.

"Just got a little nauseous, that's all."

"Should I bring over a trash can? I think we have some ginger ale in the break room-"

"No, thanks though. I'll be alright, it's a normal thing for me to get a bit sick now and then."

"Typically in the morning?" The nurse quirked an eyebrow, looking at Gee and then her paper. The other woman nodded in agreement, slightly confused at what the nurse was implying. She continued to ask her about other strange symptoms, which all were things that Gee had been going through, but she told the nurse that whatever she was implying wasn't true,and she was there because her husband made her go, not to get interrogated by this nurse about her boobs and whether or not she had her period yet or not.

Either it be denial, or just the weight that piled on from everything that had happened earlier, Gee was incredibly annoyed with her, which led her to say that she'll just get stuff from the local pharmacy, then left. The nurse tried pulling her back, but Gee just ignored her and walked out of the Med Express. She got in her car, gripped the steering wheel as tears spilled from her eyes.

Matthew threatened her, saying that if she told Frank or anyone about him showing up, he would do anything to ruin her name. He knew Kelly, he was good friends with her and if he told her how fucked up Gee used to be, she wouldn't take a chance in representing her to the companies that she wanted to work with.

And now this? That stupid nurse implied that she was pregnant but there was no way she could be pregnant, her eggs couldn't form a baby properly, and even if she was, it would end in a miscarriage before she would even have a baby bump. Though, what the nurse was implying sounded absurd and off the wall, it oddly made sense to Gee. The sickness, the weird, non-PMS changes in her body that reminded her of the time when she was pregnant, but she refused to believe that this was that, because it would end the same way the last pregnancy did, and they just got back on their feet from that, there's no way they could do it all over again.

Frank didn't know that Matt was hidden in her office, but he knew that she got banged up, she told him what she told the nurse with Matthew's threat weighing on her shoulders and mind. Maybe a night with Lindsey, Bandit, and Frank would help her forget, if she didn't say anything her reputation, but most importantly her family would be safe from that man.

"Drink more coffee, drink some booze, everything will be alright." She muttered to herself, using the sleeve of her suit to wipe her nose and eyes. After a few deep breaths, she pulled out of the disgusting, dirt covered parking lot and drove off, gaining speed with every second that passed.

She tried drowning out the thoughts with cigarettes, loud music, or even a swig of Jack Daniels from the flask underneath her seat, but they both just kept poking through that layer of serenity she tried putting up. Maybe she just needed sleep, then in the morning in a hungover state, she'll feel too much like pure garbage to even think about what happened, or what could happen.

That's why she stopped at the nearest liquor store and bought a bottle of scotch, and a case of Budweiser beer. The liquor store was right across from a Rite Aid, reminding her that she needed to get some sort of antibacterial spray for the minor laceration on the tail of her right eyebrow. She walked into the cheap candle and perfume scented store with a pair of coal black sunglasses covering the evidence of a physical altercation. An old woman with blue hair greeted her, but she just kept walking without looking back. 

The isle that contained bandages, antiseptic spray, and anything that could be found in a first aide kit, was next to one that contained feminine hygiene products, washes, and pregnancy tests. Gee could see them out of the corner of her eye as she snatched a bottle of XS bandages perfect for her cut, and this strange urgency to pick one up overcame her, the nurses words echoing around her yet no one else could hear. She thought that maybe she should, maybe seeing the little minus sign would ease her mind and give her closure for something she never thought she needed.

She looked over the selection of various brands that did the same thing and had the same use, her heart began to race and her breathing became heavy, remembering the night she and Frank stopped to purchase one after a night of Baskin Robbins and The Twilight Zone. Frank was so cautious about which pregnancy test they bought, as he was worried that whichever one they bought wouldn't give accurate results, so he bought about five different brands just to have assurance that the positive pregnancy would show up accurately. It was a memory that started off as sweet, where she smiled just a little bit and her heart warmed up, but it soon skipped to them fighting, herself drunk as she ripped all of the boxes from the towel closet in their bathroom and threw them in the garbage bin.

Her hand retracted away from one of the boxes as if the cardboard was burning. This feeling in her gut that told her that this was a bad idea, and nothing would come out of it but pure heartbreak and disappointment. Neither herself or Frank expected a pregnancy, they didn't even want to try to become pregnant with the thought that something would be different. Deep down, she knew that she was not pregnant, she knew what it felt like in the beginning, and she also knew what nerves and stress felt like, but her mind wouldn't get to rest if she didn't buy the plastic stick and see the blue minus sign.

Following Frank's logic from two years ago, she snatched two random boxes without looking. She didn't look down at them, she just threw them onto the counter and tossed a ten-dollar bill next to the items. Then when the lady bagged the items and handed her the crinkly plastic, Gee snatched the bag, turned around and walked out the automatic door, scurrying to her car.

The bag was tossed to the passenger side, next to the brown paper bags that contained various bottles of alcohol. Something clicked inside of her that made her calm down, just by a small amount. She drove home in not much of a hurry, occasionally sneaking a swig of something. It didn't matter, just as long as she wasn't caught. She was in a completely different part of Jersey, so getting home was a longer journey than it was before.

Frank called her as she drove home, saying that he saw Matthew walking out of the building with a blood stained suit, but he didn't say anything or called anyone, however, he said that if he sees Matthew coming back to the building, or around their home, he would call the police so he couldn't find her, but she didn't say anything in response to that, she just told him that the connection was bad and he was cutting out, so they both hung up and carried on with their tasks.

Again, Frank didn't know that Matthew was inside of her office, which is why he hadn't beaten the shit out of that guy yet, so Gee couldn't tell him that she beat him up already, and that's where she got all of those marks from. It was something that was better off being swept underneath the rug.

Forty five long minutes of driving, pouring rain, thunder and occasional sips of Bacardi 151 later, Gee made it home to the place in Newark. She pulled into the driveway with a click of a button on her overhead mirror, stopped the car, grabbed her bags and stepped out of the red corvette.

The garage filled with boxes, cans of paint, the lawnmower, and tools that Frank never uses, smelled of mildew, dust and a slight hint of wet paint. The stench swirled into Gee's nostrils, causing her stomach to lurch and gurgle, but she didn't vomit, there was nothing left in her stomach to vomit besides bile. She walked into the home, hearing the carnival style music of Stephen King's IT playing in the living room.

She walked through the kitchen, dining room, then leading into the living room, seeing Lindsey on the couch laying with Bandit as Lady B slept. Lindsey noticed a strange change in Gee's demeanor, the smell of alcohol radiating off of the woman. She knew that Gee was a little tipsy, she didn't care whatsoever, but she saw a bit of blood on her forehead. Before she could say anything, Gee said something first.

"Lindsey. Um, can you meet me up in my bathroom in like five? It's really important, and like, It's hard to explain, just meet me up there." She whispered, but her voice loud enough for Lindsey to hear though the music coming from the speakers. Lindsey nodded with a look in her eye that showed slight confusion, but she was sure that everything was alright.

Geralyn sighed then left the room, scurrying upstairs to the double doors that opened to her and Frank's shared bedroom, dark. The lamp was flicked on, illuminating the room and revealing the grey tabby that was curled in a ball on the bed, licking his paw. The feline stopped and looked over at Gee, stretching out his striped paws.

He jumped off of the bed and pranced over to her, pawing at her pant-legs and meowing. The little interaction between herself and Mitch made her feel slightly better, this animal that wasn't adopted with the intention of becoming a therapy animal, made her feel so much better when she was blue, Mitch couldn't solve her issues, but he could distract her for a while.

Today was different though, she couldn't be distracted from the physical pain she felt from her head, down to her stomach. She just reached down, gave the feline a gentle pat on the head, then walked away. She shuffled her way to the bathroom, dropping the bags of bottles and boxes next to the sink. Her suit jacket soon fell to the ground, as did her matching pants and socks, leaving her in a black button up and a pair of blush pink boxers.

The faucet was turned on, her hands were cupped underneath the stream, then the water was splashed on her face as a way to wipe off the dried blood from her nose, and eyebrow.

She hissed a string of profanities, the cut stinging from the cold water, her hands quivering in pain. She figured that using that stupid spray would hurt more than water, and water alone was enough to make her want to scream, that she shouldn't even bother with it and just slap a bandage on her right eyebrow and forget about it.

The bandages were primarily designed to go on top of healing stitches, but it would work just as well on a little cut. As she was concentrating on positioning it in the right spot, Lindsey came walking into the bathroom with a bottle of Budweiser in her hand. "What's going on? Holy shit, what the fuck happened to you?"

She turned around to face Lindsey with this look in her glassy eyes, her voice was low, raspy, and worn out. "Lindsey, I-I, I might be pregnant."

"Wait. What? How-"

"I don't know - but this stupid nurse implied it, and It kind of makes sense. She was talking about internal bleeding, and I thought what she was asking connected to that, but when she asked if Frank and I use condoms or whatever, it clicked." She said, sitting on the rim of the bathtub. "This is my fault. I don't bring it up any time we have sex, anymore at least. It's just pointless if I can't really get pregnant, and if I did, it wouldn't last. What the fuck do I do, Lindsey?"

"First of all, this isn't your fault. Second of all, do you know for sure that you're knocked up?"

"No, I bought some pregnancy tests, but I'm terrified to take one. What if I am pregnant? I'm going to lose this baby like I did before, Frank and I can't go through that again."

"I guess there's only one way for us to find out." Lindsey said, setting the glass bottle on the counter, then she picked up the bag that rested next to the sink and pulled out both of the boxes. She opened both of the boxes, took one of the two tests out of each boxes and handed them to Gee. "You better have to piss."

The younger female took both of them in one hand, then took a deep breath and nodded. Maybe she didn't have to take the pregnancy tests, but to clear her mind and get this newly found burden off of her shoulders, she did. The matte blue and translucent pink caps were popped back onto the bright white sticks. They sat on the counter with a timer next to them, ticking down from 5 minutes.

Gee felt her heart racing within her chest and millions of butterflies flying in her stomach, her palms were sweaty and shaking. Lindsey stayed in there, sitting next to Gee with one hand on Gee's, holding hers in a comforting manner. She did her best to try and distract Gee by talking about tea, cats, or just telling stupid jokes, but that didn't really help, Gee just kept thinking about the possibility of being pregnant, and how every little thing could go wrong, though, she tried worrying as little as she could.

"Linds. How am I going to tell Frank? He should know that I even took a pregnancy test."

"Tell him that you were just curious, you felt sick and got paranoid. Since there's no baby, I don't think he would get upset, maybe a bit excited that you took one."

"I just don't want him to be disappointed. He's talked about having children ever since our fourth date, we planned our family the night we got engaged, and now, my uterus is filled with nothing but disappointment. I never wanted kids, but for him, I'd do anything, but now, I just can't go through this again, only if it was a 100% guarantee that I'd be popping that kid out, and that's not there, hell, I can't even get pregnant."

"Don't be so hard on yourself, kid. Frank loves you no matter what, if you have a kid ripping your vagina in two or not, he-" The oddly relaxing moment was cut short by the alarm going off, beeping this annoying melody loudly. Gee gasped and jerked, eyes widening.

"Babe, it's fine. I highly doubt that you're pregnant, you don't even have that pregnancy glow." Lindsey tried assuring her as she moved closer to the sink, grabbing both of the sticks saturated in urine. She held them both out in front of her, looking at them carefully, her eyes widened then squinted, looking closer at the screens on each.

Both of them said the same exact thing, the thing that Gee was most afraid of.

"Pregnant." Lindsey muttered underneath her breath, almost at a whisper. "Gee, you're pregnant."

"What? No- it's a joke. You're joking, right?"

"No. Th-That's what it says - on both." Her voice stuttered, shaky hands moving them so Gee could see for herself. On both of the white sticks, in the middle on the oval screens,written in crystal clear, the eight letter word stuck out right in front of her eyes.

In that moment, it felt as if she was smacked down to Earth by a strong hand. This gut wrenching feeling just pierced through her as hot, salty tears welled in her eyes, everything felt numb, from the top of her head to the tips of her toes, she felt nothing but that feeling in her gut. The events from two years prior flashed through her mind, all the voices of herself, Frank, and her doctor formed a chaotic mess inside of her head, but then, they all just stopped, being cut off by a touch on her shoulder by Lindsey, almost snapping her out of her own mind.

It was a moment of silence as they stared at each other in the eyes, Gee's eyes became dull and her skin lost all color. It was like she was injected with a lethal dose of pure fear, numbing everything inside of her, almost paralyzing her.

Lindsey suggested that she should go lay down, even though sleeping wouldn't erase the pregnancy. Gee shook her head as she pulled her knees to her chest, saying that she needs to figure out a way to tell Frank, and that Lindsey and Bandit should probably go home for the night, as she and Frank would need the night to discuss this. Lindsey showed some hesitation in leaving, scared that Gee would try and do something to herself, but she knew that Frank would be home within a matter of minutes.

She said some cliche lines that are said in situations like that, then she left with the brown paper bag full of alcohol. Gee wanted that, she wanted that strong taste on her tongue, to feel the burn as it poured down her throat and into her stomach, slowly until she felt euphoric. Instead, she felt nothing but fear and slight regret, boiled down-she felt helpless.

The two tests where chucked across the room, cracking against the wall, each cap popping off before they fell to the ground. She cried out and grabbed some other items, candles, bottles of soap, anything she could get her hands on and wailed them at the wall, falling in the same pile as the tests. The lemon meringue scented candle left a dent in the wall, flakes of drywall poured from the small hole, dusting the floor.

"Fuck!" It was a yell that echoed through the upstairs, this rage boiling within her like Satan himself controlled her emotions with the flip of a switch. Then she felt guilty for breaking the wall, candles, and a glass container full of incense.

With a bottle of Old Spice shampoo in her hand and her arm drawn back, ready to throw- she heard footsteps up the old, creaky, wooden stairs. The pattern in the footsteps sounded as if Frank had just returned home, allowing this feeling of panic resurface. The bottle dropped from her hand, the cap popping off and the opaque white liquid oozing out. Within a few seconds, she saw Frank's face pop into the room, looking around for her.

As if her body was on auto pilot, she ran out of the bathroom and to him, almost jumping on him with her arms wrapped around his shoulders and her face on his chest, he gasped quietly and jumped a bit, but he soon pulled her back into this warm embrace.

"Are you alright? I heard crashing up here. Do I need to kick someone's ass?" He said in a warm, yet stern tone. He ran his tattooed digits through her hair as he kissed the top of her head. "Babe, you're trembling."

"Can we sit down? I think that there's something we should talk about." Her voice was clear, the tone almost like she was fighting back tears.

He said that he was going to change out of that monkey-suit first, but she could still talk about whatever was on her shoulders. He dropped his bag and took off his jacket as Gee sat on the bed, tapping her fingers on her thighs. He dressed himself in a pair of basketball shorts, and as he pulled the shirt over her head, the sentence he never thought he would hear, slipped from her mouth.

"Frank, I-I, I uh. I'm pregnant." It spilled from her lips like vomit, "I went to Med Express to get checked out, like you told me to. The nurse implied that I was pregnant, I got pissed at her for even bringing it up, but then everything seemed to click, so I bought two pregnancy tests."

"Whoa. You're what?" The shirt was dropped to the floor, this small glimmer of excitement shined in his eyes as he walked over to her, sitting next to her. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah. They were both positive."

"Holy shit, Gee. You're pregnant, with an actual baby. Do you want a hug?"

"I don't know. I just, I'm fucking scared now. I don't want to get excited about this baby, because there's this huge possibility that we can lose it, like we did the last one, and I don't think we can handle another loss like that. Remember how long it took for us to get back on our feet?"

"Babe, why don't we get you to the OB? Maybe since we know earlier, things will turn out different and the doctor can help us, he can help you, and he can help the baby. Can we at least try, just this one time?"

"Frank-"

"For me, please. I promise that we can make this work, you just have to try." His voice was sincere, and his eyes trusting. "No matter what you choose to do, to try or not to try, I will have your back, I will always have your back."

Frank wanted to try again, but Gee just didn't know if she could, because then she's risking almost everything. Her marriage, her mental health, everything. But he was right, maybe if they got medical attention earlier on than last time, the pregnancy would make it to full term and they'd finally have what they've been missing for so long. She didn't want to let him down and do something selfish, or stupid to save them both the heartache of another miscarriage. Maybe this was a turning point for them, and she was on her way to believing that.

"Okay," She said, almost as an exhale. "We can try, I would do anything for you, Frank. Even if it means risking another pregnancy, I will. Just as long as I have you."

Frank said nothing in response. Tears just dripped down his tan cheeks as he smiled, his hands went to her cheeks as he leaned in to kiss her soft, slightly chapped lips. His heart felt as if it was going to explode, almost like a pot pie that was left in the oven for too long, then the top layer of crust just popped.

His hands moved to her shoulders, gently as he pushed her down on the warm bed while he kissed her. Gee muttered a "stop" underneath her breath, thinking that Frank was trying to pursue something with her in celebration of the newly found pregnancy, as it was typically his way of celebrating any occasion, but that wasn't the case. He hushed her, moved down, tucked her shirt up so her lower stomach was exposed. Both of his hands went above the area where he thought her uterus was, then he leaned down to kiss around the area, heart thumping.

Gee kept her eyes closed, this ache in her heart growing. Even though she was going to try this with him, she didn't want to let him down if the pregnancy fails again. They just found out about it, and she could tell that Frank was already getting so attached. She thought that she should look on the bright side, but only if she wanted to go blind, maybe it was worth it in the end. She didn't want to look too further into the future, and think that she'll actually be able to give Frank the child he's been wanting for so long, at least not until after the doctors appointment when the doctor can tell them if there is anything they can do to keep the baby alive.

After a while when Gee was curled up in bed, Frank went into the bathroom to take care of some things, where he saw the clutter next to the door. He noticed the two white sticks, picked them up and looked at them, with a slight smile on his face, he shoved them both in his back pocket, leaving the mess behind for their housekeeper, Lucy. He came back to bed shortly, laying next to her with a cardboard box laying between them.

"Wait. When was the last time we did it without a condom?"

"On your birth- no, fuck. I don't remember, I guess we just stopped caring at some point."

"How far along do you think you are? Don't you have to count from the last day of your..."

"I'm honestly just as clueless as you are, I don't know if I'm weeks, or months along. All I know is that there's a baby inside of me, probably microscopic."

"I still can't believe that you're pregnant. A sperm of mine fancied one of your eggs, and boom, a life is created. That's so cool."

"Do you think that we can handle a baby? I know we could two years ago, but I'm almost 30, I'm excited about it though, I see it as learning, 30 isn't even old, 30 is like the new 20."

"For trees." Frank giggled as he took a swig from his Coca-Cola. "But, yeah, we can do it. We're only early on in the pregnancy, so we have like nine months to get this figured out."

Frank wasn't wrong, no one really is born with the knowledge of raising a child from birth, to their teenage years. Within the nine months that a woman is pregnant, she and her partner- if said partner is around, have to prepare by reading books, taking classes, all before this new life joins the rest. It wasn't going to be easy for any of them, It was going to be hard, and that's inevitable. They discussed it well into the night, or until the duo crashed next to each other, their minds tired and worn out.

Gee had some trouble sleeping, the guilt from both drinking and smoking prior to knowing about the pregnancy. By the slightest chance, If the possibility of losing the baby this time around weren't likely, they certainly have gone up. Consuming alcohol, especially stronger liquor, and smoking can cause harm to the young fetus, anything could happen, anything from minor or serious birth defects to miscarriage. She wasn't going to tell Frank just yet, at least not until after they knew exactly how the little one is doing.

Lindsey texted Gee at around 5:30 A.M., asking how things were going and if she had told Frank yet. She told Lindsey that they were going to get help to ensure the pregnancy would be healthy, she thanked Lindsey for being there earlier on, and apologized for pushing her away like that. Lindsey understood, and didn't have any hard feelings about it, but she did want to meet up and see how she and the baby are doing.

It was a sense of relief that Lindsey wasn't upset, even though there wasn't a real reason as to why she would be upset. She was happy for the Iero's, because of their history of fertility, she was glad that they had this chance to do this over.

The morning filled with chirping birds, the ray of sunshine beaming into the room, crept sooner than they would've liked. Frank was happy when he woke up, like he had something new to wake up to when in reality, there wasn't anything new, yet at least. Gee was nauseous, she threw up within the first fifteen minutes of waking up, they both assumed that it was the morning sickness stepping into the spotlight.

Frank was oddly excited, presumably because it was the first real symptom he's noticed regarding her pregnancy. It allowed everything to feel more real, like two days ago, if he heard or saw her getting sick, he thought nothing of it, but now? It means that they have a son, or daughter on the way.

A little part of Gee was excited too, but she really didn't want to get too excited in case her doctor couldn't do anything to help them.

They both drank their morning coffee, Frank encouraged her to eat something healthy, like a banana or some cut up, out of season berries, even though she said she wasn't real hungry, she still ate the bowl of fruit, because she knew that it would make Frank happy.

Afterwards, herself and Frank went upstairs to get ready for the upcoming appointment, she dressed in a Madonna tee, black skinny jeans and old converse, something that was loose fitting--sort of. Frank wore something casual, nothing real bold, a Slipknot and baggy jeans. Gee said that she would drive, despite Frank's offer to drive them both to the Obstetrician - Gynecologist office. They took her red corvette with the ivory hood down, the wind blowing in their hair as they drove through the streets of New Jersey.

They made it to the office with limited time to spare, the traffic on Friday mornings wasn't the best in Jersey, especially around a lot of businesses. Gee checked herself in, then even before she got a chance to sit on one of those uncomfortable waiting room chairs, the Nurse called her back to begin the exam. She was told to fill out some papers, then change into a paper gown, as they had to do an "internal exam" to check her cervix, and uterus. Then after that, they took some blood to test her blood cell count, blood type, and if she had any underlying health issues that could harm the pregnancy.

After the vile's of blood were taken to the lab, she was allowed to put her clothes back on and wait for the doctor to come in, where he'd preform a ultrasound and discuss her lab results. Frank was more antsy than Gee was, he sat next to her on the table, one hand on her thigh and his head on her shoulder. He stayed there when the doctor came in, holding his clipboard against his chest as he walked in and greeted them both.

He sat on the small round chair, and clicked his pen, scanning over the paperwork. Everything was normal, except for her estrogen level, it was very low, as it typically was.

"I know that you two will ask if we have anything that we can do to boost your estrogen, and my answer is yes, we do. We can give you a monthly estrogen injection that will promise that your pregnancy will make it to full term. I have it with me, so Mrs.Iero, could you please roll your sleeve up?"

"Wait - Another needle? No- I nearly passed out from the last one, can't you give me a pill instead?" She squirmed away from the needle like a child, holding onto Frank's arm. "Frank-"

"Mrs. Iero, please stay still."

"I hate needles. Emmett, wait - wait - What the fuck!" She gasped as she felt this sting in her right arm, followed by a bandage being stuck on her skin. "Jesus fuck. Warn a lady first, would ya?"

He snickered, then tossed the needle and his gloves in a hazardous waste bin, then he sat next to the table on a stool as he grabbed a bottle of blue tinted gel. "Geralyn, could you lay down? We're going to do an ultrasound to take a look at the fetus, and no, there won't be any needles, but this will be a little cold."

She glared at him as she rubbed her arm, she held that gaze as she laid down on the table. Dr. Cahill then reached over and squirted the gel onto her lower belly, right above where her uterus would be. He took the wand and placed it where the gel was, moving it around as he pressed some buttons. The three of them looked at the screen, waiting for something.

"Alright. Do you see that black mass? That is the placenta, and that little flashing light is your baby's heartbeat." He explained, using his pinkie to highlight the spot. "From the looks of things, you are about eight weeks along. So, estimating, your due date will be around August 4th."

"Whoa. Holy shit, that's our baby."

"I know. A strange, little alien inside of my uterus."

"Hold on, It seems that there are other masses within your uterus. More than likely, they're just air bubbles or a glitch in the machine, but we'll continue to monitor you as your pregnancy progresses. I would like to see you back within the next month, how does the 23rd sound?"

"That's fine. So uh, one question. I thought that you told us that we couldn't have children?"

"I never said that, I said that it would be hard for you to get pregnant, and the possibility of keeping the child would be nearly impossible, but with the hormones, everything will be fine. Now, the exam is complete, I will see you on the 23rd, please feel free to call the office if you have any questions or concerns." And that was that, Emmett printed out the pictures for them, handed them the pictures and left.

They were left with this sense of relief, that they felt like they had a grip on this and that everything would be smooth sailing from here on out, but that everything wouldn't be smooth sailing, it would eventually become twice- no, three times as difficult. But that was only a matter of time before they would come to find that out, until then, there's only one more Iero joining the world.


	6. The Box Under Her Bed

Some little things in life are pointless, or some think that they are useless. Imagine writing a cluster of songs from when you were in college about one of the worst things your heart has ever felt, stuffing them into an old Nike shoe box and thinking that it would be the last time you'd ever see--or read them, but then finding them almost 10 years later underneath your wife's bed, just like Frank Iero. He was a troubled teenager, dealing with his parents' divorce, breakups with not only one girl, but two, and the only solace he could find was pouring his heart onto crinkled, often ripped notebook paper. 

After moving into an apartment with his newly-rekindled love, that only a broke college student could afford, he lost track of where the box went. Maybe it went to the New Jersey junk-yard where raccoons would tear it apart, piss on them, or just not even bother with them, or they stayed underneath his bed with a "Property of Frank Iero" note attached to the front, God knows. All he knew was that he wanted them back, because after the part of his life where he worked as the owner of a shitty company, he wanted to pursue a dream he's always had, and if he couldn't, then he would go to plan B; a mailman.

Sometimes things like that end up in the most bizarre places, places that wouldn't typically house a box of someone else's personal belongings, but maybe they end up in places like that with not just no explanation, but for a legitimate reason that doesn't require one. Frank would soon find that out, in a place that he never called home.

A little less than a week has passed since the Iero family got some life changing news; after years of living with the thought that Gee couldn't become pregnant -- or keep the unborn child alive inside the womb, they had came to the discovery that Gee was pregnant with Frank's child.

It made sense after noticing all of the symptoms she felt for the longest time, but no one jumped to that conclusion, it wasn't until some nurse at a Med Express implied it, that Gee herself jumped to that conclusion, even though at first it seemed like a stretch, but everything seemed to click at that point in time. She's been doing just fine since finding out about her pregnancy, she was now at about 7 weeks, making the baby the size of a little, plump blueberry.

Frank has been acting slightly different, his whole attitude has changed into a much softer one, he had begun to talk about buying the crib, changing table, and almost everything new parents would need before welcoming their new baby into the world, he wasn't going to order them yet, as he was planning something else that would cause both of them to be gone for a few days, but he wasn't going to tell her that, not yet at least.

Aside from that, life seemed to be slightly better. A new staff was taking over the business, Michael was back and he was currently studying the past 5 years of progress the company has made, which allowed both of the Iero's to be home and in each others presence. They've gone out to dinner, and the movies a couple of times as little dates, and as they would typically end with sex or something along that line, they didn't this time around. Something always interrupted them, the power went out one night, then Michael called Frank for one of those long, boring phone conference. It wasn't easy to get the mood back, but they would sneak in a hand-job or two before the night came to a close. Neither of them liked it, but they knew in just a few short hours, it would all be back to normal.

The day was November 25th, just days before Thanksgiving, it was a cold rainy day in New Jersey, a typical day in the fourth season that came over the Earth. Neither of them had plans for the day, as they both had a day off from their responsibilities of being adults, Frank had the day planned to a T; He and Gee would make breakfast, coffee, then they'd cuddle up on the couch and watch some cheesy, old 80's movies about werewolves, ultimately resulting in some-sort of sexual activity that would leave them both satisfied and craving for the other's touch once more. 

Gee knew what his plan was, whenever he had something like this planned, he always gave off this vibe that was exciting and a little bit anxious, on top of that, during a shopping trip for nothing more than little snacks that she suddenly began to crave, Frank loaded up their cart with ingredients to make pancakes, and a bottle of orange juice for both virgin, and non-virgin mimosas, along with a box of chocolate chip cookies, and various sugary cereals that the 5-year-old inside of him desperately craved. While at the shop, Frank suddenly disappeared from where Gee was, only to return with a bottle or two of prenatal vitamins. She felt her heart warm at the little gesture, she thought how dedicated Frank was to the pregnancy already, was utterly heartwarming, leaving her to only imagine what everything would be like when the baby arrives. 

That little feeling of letting him down became more dull with every day that passed, each day further into the pregnancy was one day further than she was last time, a true milestone that told them both that everything would be alright, and nothing bad could happen within those nine months.

The night they came home from the shop, they took a bubble bath together per Frank's request. He sat across from her underneath all of the bubbles, he would scoop up piles of bubbles and blow them in her face, and she would do the same, they both giggled like children as they played with the scented bubbles. They stayed in the bath until nearly all of the candles were burnt out and the water ran slightly cold, then they got out, dressed in some old pajamas, popped some popcorn and called it a night, it was all about getting the romance back into their marriage. He fell asleep with his head next to her belly and arms wrapped around her thighs, holding her close.

It was one of the best things Gee had ever felt, she felt so safe and secure with Frank just centimeters from her body. The night was peaceful, nothing would wake them from the deep slumber, though in the morning, an overwhelming smell of burning pancakes filled the home, awakening the woman sleeping in bed. If this had occurred two months ago, she would've gone downstairs to help Frank, but now, she could only become sick and vomit because of the smell. It didn't just end with her getting a little sick, she vomited in about two house-plants on her way down to the kitchen as the odor became more intense, but oddly she became used to the stench and ended up being just fine.

The kitchen was filled with thick smoke, the smoke alarm was just seconds away from blaring through the entire home, she took a broom and knocked it off the ceiling, so that wouldn't happen. They both laughed and sighed. "Imagine the fire department showing up because of a charred pancake, classic."

Frank giggled and shook his head, reaching over to grab the bottle of pancake mix. He gasped slightly as he felt Gee wrap her arms around his waist, her head resting on his shoulder with a hum. She kissed his neck softly, one peck after another over his scorpion tattoo, moving to the scissors on the other side of his neck. Her hands slowly slipped further down on his bare torso. He sucked in a sharp breath as his eyes closed, one hand went down to where her's was, fitting over the pale hand. He turned around to face her, noticing the look in her eyes that made something twitch inside of him. "I just want to fuck you, but I know as soon as I have those pretty, little, red panties off of you, something is going to happen that'll cockblock us."

"Fuck anything else. Our phones are upstairs, the sun is shining in our home, we should just fuck."

Frank didn't need to be told twice, he picked her up by her waist and placed her on top of the counter, he kissed at her neck as his hands trailed up her thick, pale thighs. His fingers hooked around the band of her underwear, the pads of his thumbs ran along the thin band, only to let go only seconds later.

He pulled a barstool over, pushed her gently so she was leaning on her hands, then he leaned down to kiss her thighs, slowly moving up. The moment before his tongue could come in contact with anything, there was a knock at the door.

Thinking that if he ignored them, they would go away, so he continued to lick up her thighs and to her heat, using his thumb to rub her through the thin, red fabric. The knocking stopped, and when they both thought the coast was clear, they heard footsteps walking though the house.

A little part of Gee thought it was Matthew, though he didn't know where to find her home, maybe the business building, not their private home. However, the footsteps coming closer to the kitchen was enough for them to stop, and act like nothing was going on. Mikey came walking Into the kitchen with Kristin by his side, her baby bump stuck out of her Slytherin sweater. It caught Gee's attention more than it normally would've, possibly because she too would have a bump in just a few short weeks. Kristin didn't notice, nor did Mikey, they both just talked to Frank about an even in their lives.

What Gee heard faded in and out, as her mind was preoccupied with the pregnancy again. She knew it was real, but she just didn't want to think about it, the sight of Kristin's pregnant belly reminded her of it, a little more than she wanted, but she wouldn't dare say anything until the time was absolutely right.

"So, sis, you wanna join us?" Mikey asked, snapping her into reality.

"I'm sorry, what? I just kind of checked out."

"Kristin and I are going to Dad's for the day, he wanted us to ask if you and Frank would wanna join us. He's making dinner, probably not vegan, so I told Frank to bring a basket of vegetables and whatever else vegans eat just in case."

"Yeah. You could've called me, ya know."

"Why would I do that when I can come visit my big sis?" Mikey chuckled awkwardly, he reached over to ruffle her raven black hair. She groaned in annoyance, but she giggled too, pushing him away, she threatened to tell their father, but Mikey just shrugged it off and rolled his eyes, it didn't work on him as it did twenty years ago, instead of wailing and running towards their dad, he just brushed it off like nothing happened.

Mikey and Kristin ended up staying another hour, Gee found solace in talking with her little brother that distracted her from the burden inside of her uterus, for even just an hour, it was like she wasn't pregnant and the pregnancy was just a fragment of her twisted imagination. In a way, she felt like she was lying to him by not telling him, after all, she told him literally everything, but eventually she would have to tell him, just not right then. He offered to drive them both to Donald's home, but Frank was quick to decline the offer, as he wanted to spend the rest of the day with Gee. Thesy would still go, just not that moment.

Upon Mikey and his wife leaving, Frank and his went back into the kitchen to finish what they had started. It started off with a dozen mini blueberry and oat pancakes, and ended with two bubbling orgasms. Frank insisted that maple syrup was an aphrodisiac, and tried proving it by pointing down to the phallic object in his pants, then for the rest of what time they spent eating, Frank kept his hand on her thigh, often between them. The morning--afternoon, ended with them both on the counter, doing what was often frowned upon in the eyes of God.

Then, Frank brought out a container of Cherry Garcia ice cream, two spoons, and a bag of mini chocolate chips. He carried them up to their bedroom, where himself and Gee sat for a while, they ate ice cream and watched some corny horror movies from the 80's, spending a day off in one of the best ways they knew how. Mitch stayed curled in a ball, watching their every movement as they relaxed on the couch. Frank laid on Gee, the carton of ice cream on his lap.

"If our baby is a girl, we should name her Cherry. Not because of the ice cream, which is fucking delicious, but because of New Jersey, the Cherry Blossom state."

"What about Garcia?"

"Garcia Iero. Love the way it sounds, but Cherry is so cool. Or Lillian, after my grandmother, maybe Rosa, Lee, I dunno. But Cherry, there's something about that name that just ugh, I fuckin' love it."

"It's pretty cool, I like it. Cherry Garcia Iero."

"Even though it's a fucking dope name, I think we're going to have a boy. My mom had two boys, my dad has four brothers, it's in the Iero sperm. We only make boys."

"I'll love whatever it is. We can still name him Charlie or something, and his nickname could be Cherry." She shrugged, resting her head on the top of Frank's. "Don't you think it's a little too soon to think about names? I like the names, though."

"Not at all. We need to get the name picked out as soon as possible, so he or she doesn't end up with a name like Deloris, or Gertrude."

"Donna wanted to name Mikey 'Arthur.', but my dad talked him out of it."

"Holy shit. We still have to tell your dad about the baby, he's going to fucking kill me. Not just for fucking you, but knocking you up. I just don't get why he doesn't like me, I'm so lovable."

Although dramatic, Frank was right, Donald wasn't too thrilled about them getting married in the first place, but he saw how much Gee loved Frank, and he wanted her to be happy, so he allowed the wedding to happen. Sure, he wanted grand-kids but he really didn't want Frank's genes mixed in with the Way genes. Maybe he was overthinking it, just a little bit, Donald could've changed within the last three years that the Iero's have been married.

Thinking about it, Frank thought that with Donald knowing about the miscarriage,he would be thrilled about the thought of having a second grandchild to spoil in everyday possible. But, Donald was almost like a game of Russian Roulette, either Donald was a sweet, old man that gave out butterscotch candies, or a bitter bastard to nearly everyone, except for his two children. Though, Donald wasn't in a bad mood that night, he was happy that he had the ones he loved around, and Frank.

Kristin lightened his mood by giving him a picture of her latest sonogram, complete with a frame and note that said "Rowan Louise." written in pink, and attached with a silk pink bow. To Gee, it seemed like Kristin flaunted around the fact she was expecting her first child, big deal, but that didn't mean she wasn't happy for them, like it was Mikey's first child too, she just wasn't one of those expectant mothers.

The day was filled with joy, Donald had this aura about him that was so happy, warm, and welcoming. He wanted to spend the day with everyone in the living room, watching movies, and telling old stories about when Mikey and Gee were little children, the typical, widowed father thing. He made dinner for the family, with help from Gee and Mikey while Kristin and Frank stayed in the living room, where Frank asked questions about pregnancy that he probably should know, but she thought it was out of pure curiosity.

"I don't mean to offend you, but have you thought about adoption?" Donald asked as he sat out five, black square plates . "I love Mitch, but I can't take him fishing."

"Adoption? No. I don't think that we'd need it now." It spilled out of her mouth, like the filter was non-existent at that moment. "I mean, Mikey is having a baby soon. I'm sure you'll have your hands full with Rowan."

"Even if you adopted twins, I would be just as happy, even though our genes aren't being passed down, I'm okay, at least you're saving a life. Gee, can you set the table?"

"Yes. But, what if we didn't choose to adopt? I'm not saying we're thinking about kids right now, but your opinion would be nice."

"Like I said, I'd love the child either way. Don't forget the napkins." Oddly, it was a great sense of relief, knowing that her dad wasn't dead set on the thought of them adopting a child, which probably contained less risks that actually giving birth. She continued on to set the table, thinking about when-- or how she would tell her father about the pregnancy, she knew he would be supportive, he always has been, but this was something entirely different than what he has supported her on, almost like this was shaky ground.

The topic seemed to be swept underneath the rug as dinner went on, Donald asked Frank about how the business was going, Mikey how his band is, and how Kristin is regarding her pregnancy, and especially how little Rowan Louise was doing. As Kristin mentioned something about always feeling queasy, Gee almost blurted out that she felt the same, and the baby inside of her made nearly every sense of hers go haywire, but she caught herself every time.

At one point during dinner, Frank slipped his hand underneath the table and onto her jean-clad thigh, he rubbed up and down as the meal continued on, ultimately moving between her thick thighs, all while he looked at Donald with this cold, innocent look to his eyes. As he moved closer to what he wanted, a blush rose to Gee's pale face, either from embarrassment, shame, or as she became flustered. She tried not to make eye-contact with her father, or anyone else at the table, and Frank just kept this ornery look plastered on his face.

It had gotten to the point that Donald picked up on a strange vibe radiating off of his daughter, though he couldn't exactly pinpoint what it was exactly, he had a hunch that it had to do with the constant conversation of pregnancy and children, he thought that it was somewhat triggering for her to think about it, so he resorted to something she always loved growing up as a child in that home.

"So uh, since dinner is about done, we should get some ice cream from the parlor. Geralyn, would you like to join me?" Donald said, looking directly at Gee, catching her attention and snapping her out of Frank's unknown grasp.

"Yeah, definitely. I'll grab my keys." She nodded her head in agreement, however, as she went to stand up, Frank pulled her back down by her thigh. She gasped quietly as she fell back on the chair, but Frank just giggled, then looked over at her with a quirked eyebrow. "Actually, um, I think I'll hang around here, Frank and I will help clean up. Kristin and Mikey can join you, I remember her saying that she's been craving ice cream, so she can go."

"Gee, are you sure? I don't care about a few dirty dishes."

"Yeah. I think the parlor closes in like forty minutes, so you better hurry." To Donald, she seemed like she was in a rush to get rid of everyone else in the home, which didn't strike him as strange, as she always wanted to be alone growing up, so he just took her word for it; then he proceeded to leave the home with Kristin and Mikey following behind him.

Frank got up from the table and watched them, peering out of the stained glass window waiting to see the black ford drive away from the house. The coast was soon clear, much to his delight. He was quick to crash his lips against Gee's, his hand quickly went between her legs. She whined into the kiss, gasping against his lips.

"Fuck off." She grumbled, using her own hand to cup Frank through his navy jeans, she felt him twitch and harden within them.

"I'm sure we'd both prefer that I fuck you instead. Take your fucking pants off, now." It was demanding, In the tone that made all the hair on the back of her neck stand up like an antenna, yet she wasn't going to give in to him, not yet. She shook her head in defiance, cupping her hand harder.

Frank groaned and pushed her against the counter, saying that they didn't have time to fuck around, as her family would be back. She just giggled and continued to see how far she could push him, he showed her real quick, he picked her up, slammed her on the counter, then grabbed either side of her jeans and split them in half with Hulk-like strength, leaving an opening that revealed to him, that she forgot to wear underwear.

"Looks like you came prepared. Also, fuck ice cream, I bet that you're much sweeter," Breathlessly, he grabbed onto both of her thighs, dipped lower and kissed around her core, meaning her inner thighs, leading down to where she wanted him the most. "Such a pretty little thing, so tiny, just begging to be fucked."

She looked down at him with a slight nod, eyes glassy and waiting. The sun from outside reflected onto his stunning, hazel eyes, almost making them glow that made her crumble. He then moved lower, and stuck his tongue out, flicking it against her clit slowly, the his tongue moved around so he was licking all around her pussy, hearing her whine softly ignited a fire deep within him.

He licked her like a lollipop, savoring her sweetness and sucking. He toyed with her until he felt that she was ready for more. Sucking on his index and middle fingers, he looked up at her with the same, lustful gaze into her own, he held the gaze - almost like a staring contest, as he slid them both into her warm cunt, watching every emotion in her eyes as she lurched, gasped, whined, and trembled. Their eyes remained locked as he wiggled his fingers within her, searching for the ball of nerves, he watched as he forced his fingers up, studying her body language.

"Fuck-Fuck, right there-" She nodded frantically, her hands gripped the edge of the counter so hard that her knuckles turned white. Her right leg was draped over his shoulder, holding him closer. Frank moved back down to lick her quickly as he fingered her faster, moaning against her clit. "Holy shit, Frank, baby, I-I'm so fucking close."

He snickered then picked up the pace, bringing her further to her orgasm, only to stop seconds before she would release. With a swift hand, he unzipped his pants, pulled his dick out, grabbed her thighs and kissed her as he pushed in. She cried out loudly as a wave of pleasurable pressure hit her like a semi truck, almost tearing her in two.

Frank wasted no time in pulling his hips back, then slamming them forward, over and over again. He basked in the noises that she made and how she felt, the tightness, the feeling of her immense arousal, and the pornographic sounds she made was like heaven to him. As he thrust his hips, he kissed her salty lips, their tongues danced together as their bodies collided. Frank moaned against her lips, biting and kissing them as a trio.

"You better be close to coming, my - fuck, my dad will be home soon." She panted out, reaching one of her free hands down to rub her clit in tight circles, bringing herself closer to the orgasm that Frank pushed away from her grasp. Frank hardly got a word out for a moan that bubbled up his throat, poured out of his mouth, interrupting him.

Gee locked her eyes with his, her other hand held onto his neck, holding him in place but also restricting the blood flow that drove his mind bonkers, she saw something deep within his piercing hazel eyes that drove her right over the invisible cliff. Every nerve in her body ignited and exploded, causing her to thrash around and scream out in pleasure, curses, and cries of Frank's name was mixed in a concoction of moans. Frank kept a tight trip on her body, protecting her from falling or hurting herself. Not too long after, he was coming too, shooting his hot, sticky, fluid into her as his hips snapped, becoming more and more erratic as his orgasm shook through his body like an earthquake, yet somehow he remained alert enough to kiss her soft pink lips, whimpering and whining as he rode not only his, but her orgasm out.

Their bodies stiffened, then relaxed as they fought to catch their breath. Their bodies were drenched in musky sweat as heat radiated off one another.

Frank kissed her lips again, then pulled himself out. A thin shiny line of his cum dropped out of her, leaking into the floor below them. "You good?"

"I need new pants." She giggled as she kicked the ruined jeans off. As she went to get off of the counter in search of new pants, Frank stopped her by grabbing her thighs as he moved lower and lower, poking his tongue out to collect the cum that dripped from her, the bittersweet flavor of his own seed pooled on his tongue. After one, clean swipe, he moved back up to kiss her, pushing the thin white seed in her mouth.

The kiss was short, sweet, and salty. Gee pulled away so she could go downstairs and snatch a pair of old, faded, probably too tight, blue jeans. She went down because if Frank were to, it leaves the door for her dad to walk in wide open, as he would be due back very soon.

As she was downstairs digging for a pair of jeans, Frank stayed upstairs to clean some of the dishes to cover up their tracks, he whistled a tune that he knew off heart. Upon looking under her bed, she noticed an old Nike shoe box that was not hers, converse and vans were more her forte, the only other person she knew that wore Nike shoes, was the man she married. Out of pure curiosity, she pulled out from underneath her bed and saw his name scribbled on the front. Now, she wasn't going to dig through it, even though she had no idea as to why his box would not only be under her old bed, but not at their home with both of their stuff. The box was tucked underneath her arm, her pants were zipped up, and her shirt was fixed before she went back upstairs.

Donald was back, but Mikey and Kristin were on their way out. According to Donald, she had gotten very sick after smelling peanut butter, so they just decided to call it a night, Donald understood, at least he was able to spend the rest of the night with his other beloved child.

She sat the box down on the table, then sat at one of the chairs, hands folded in front of her. She invited her dad and Frank to sit down, they each had their bowl of ice cream like children, but she didn't really care for the ice cream.

He unpacked a bag from the local creamery, "Frank, I brought you some weird, soy sauce caramel seaweed vegan ice cream. Gee, I got some Cherry Garcia for you. Hopefully you like it, it's vegan."

"Thanks, Mr. Way, glad you remembered that I was-" Frank stopped mid sentence, another voice broke between his words. Maybe it was because of the fact her dad actually thought of Frank instead of bringing something that he knew Frank wouldn't like, or he said Cherry Garcia when it was unknown to himself, that they talked about naming their daughter Cherry, something inside of her broke and glowed within.

It didn't make sense to herself, she was never this sensitive to things regarding sentimental things, especially babies and pregnancy. A part of herself thought this would be a good chance to tell her dad about the pregnancy, but the other was still worried about how he would take the information, but her mouth just went with her gut wanted to.

"Dad, uh, I need to tell you something." She said as she picked at her nails, a habit she has never been able to break, aside from chewing them down to the cuticle. Her dad looked at her blankly, nodding. Frank knew where she was going with this, and he was ready for whatever reaction Donald would lay out. Before Gee got a chance to say anything, Donald assumed first hand that she and Frank would be getting a divorce, which hit both of them the wrong way because of how he said it. But she pushed tit aside for the time being, she went on to correct him and say that she was pregnant, like she and Frank were expecting a child of their own.

He responded with an unpleasant, yet expected response, "Geralyn, I don't want you to get hurt again. You will probably, given the past, lose this baby again."

"Dad, it's alright. Frank and I went to the doctor, the baby is fine, I-I'm on estrogen so the baby will be fine."

"Frank? He's the cause of this! I can almost guarantee that if you had married someone else, you would've had many children by now. Why don't you stay here? I feel like the baby would be much safer." Donald offered, insensitive. He acted like Frank wasn't fit to be a father, when everyone else knew that he would make an amazing father.

A rage bubbled within her, either it be because her father wasn't supporting her, or he had the nerve to blame Frank for this, Frank! Donald knew that Frank wasn't at fault, Gee's hormones were, but his mind was still stuck on the fact he hated Frank so much.

"Stop!" It was a growl as she stood from her seat, the chair squeaking across the hardwood floor. "I love you, Dad, but you're being so mean to Frank and I. I'm pregnant, fucking petrified that Frank and I will lose this baby, and if you're going to continue to blame Frank for nearly everything, I don't want you to be near our child. I'm so sorry, but I don't think you'll be there for us when you couldn't even be here for when I even brought up the pregnancy."

"Gee, Im always there for you, but I don't want to see you go through that again, maybe it would be easier if you-"

"Me?! Frank went through it too! We both did! What would be easier, huh? Aborting the baby to avoid losing it so I can't say it was my fault? Fuck you." She yelled, her middle finger stuck straight up at he man who raised her. She didn't feel any sort of guilt, not at the moment at least, she just felt anger and this deep feeling of hurt. Out of everyone, she thought that her dad would be there for her, he wasn't there for her engagement, and marriage to Frank, he needed to grow up and get past that resentment he's had towards Frank since 12th grade.

Donald tried apologizing, however, it was more so directed at her instead of how he made Frank feel. Frank mumbled some curses at Donald, snatched his ice cream, Gee took hers and the shoe box before they left the old, New Jersey home.

They both left angry and hot as a pistol, they just couldn't believe how insensitive her dad could be at a time like this. She wanted to know the third most important man in her life was there, but he wasn't, maybe he just needed a day or two to chill out and try to come to terms with the pregnancy.

Gee felt bad for what she said, she almost called to apologize to him, but she didn't, she thought it would almost make it seem like what he did wasn't wrong. They both needed some time to calm down, until then, she would stay in her home, eating cherry Garcia ice cream and pondering her mind about how things would turn out, for not only her, but Frank, the baby, and Mr. Donald Way.


	7. Chapter 7

Another few days went by, and the distance between Gee and her father slowly grew. A blowout in the old Way household drove a wedge between them, Donald just didn't know when he should let go of this long grudge he's held against Frank,one that didn't even make sense. Frank only tried his best to make Donald like him, but it was nearly impossible.

Donald's words drove them away, physically and mentally. Neither of them tried to make an attempt to contact one another, it broke each of their hearts but what would they say to each other? Maybe it would be in their best interest to keep silent until the dust had settled.

Aside from the bad blood between Frank, Gee, and Donald, things in the Iero's household looked up. The baby seemed to be doing fine, even though there wasn't an apparent bump that stuck out, but they both knew that the little thing was doing just fine. Though, they received a call from her obstetrician, he said that they haven't been able to identify the extra mass they found, which was probably a glitch or dark spot, but they wanted to ask and see how she was doing after the estrogen shot. She was doing fine, just fine, for once in quite some time.

Another thing that was brought up, based on how pregnancies typically go, the baby was just a little bigger than a blueberry, almost to the size of a raspberry. The baby was growing, and every little millimeter was almost like a step in the right direction to a full grown, healthy baby. They were slowly on the journey to become parents, and Frank was over the moon excited like a kid in a candy store. She was very excited herself, however, she was told by her doctor that within the first trimester, brings the greatest risk of losing the baby. That scared her because she was still within the first trimester, about 7.5 weeks along which meant that she still had roughly four and a half weeks left.

Frank told her to look on the bright side, despite his own worry, and she said that she would only if she wanted to go blind. She wasn't wrong, but in situations like that she needed to keep her head above water, otherwise she'll drown in her own misery. Until the twelve weeks were up, she wanted to keep the pregnancy on the down-low, even though that might be hard considering how excited Frank already was.

Aside from Frank, it wouldn't be hard at all, she didn't have a baby bump, or any other obvious signs that she was pregnant, unless someone whipped an ultrasound machine out and scanned over her belly, no one would ever know. Though, nausea and morning sickness came in full swing recently, but she could play it off as being genuinely sick.

Frank always brought her breakfast in bed, complete with an afternoon of watching some old-school television shows that they grew up watching. On the day's that Frank and Gee had to attend the office, Gee usually stayed in her office with the fan on full blast and the windows open, it seemed that she was in the stage of pregnancy where she got unbearable hot flashes like she was going through menopause. It was hard to hold meetings when she would constantly have to fan herself, or stand next to a window, but somehow she made it work.

Good thing about the hot flashes and copious amounts of paperwork, they bothered her so much that they distracted her in the way that she had forgotten what had happened in that office a week and a half prior. It was like Matthew disappeared after he was given that check for $50,000, which scared her because god knows when he would pop up again.

The day was another day at the office, another long, boring day that was crammed with training, paperwork, and everything that they despised. Though, when the building was essentially closed, Frank would lore her into his office where things got a whole lot hotter. Some nights, it was fun, other nights, they were too tired to even take their clothes off, or they wouldn't even leave their offices, they would just load up Skype. Then they'd leave their office, reunite with a kiss and exit the building with their hands locked, maybe they would get food on the way home, maybe they'd just go back home without stops, it was always something different. But when they would return home, it was the same, they'd watch movies, maybe eat, talk about little things, smoke a few cigarettes, then they'd crash.

Though, tonight was different. They came home tripping on all of the dirty laundry that was scattered around their home, they took it as a sign that maybe they should do the laundry instead of waiting for another week. Before they started on doing the daunting task, they went upstairs to change into something a little more comfortable, but as Gee searched for a shirt, she felt Frank behind her, his hands went over her belly and his chin went on her shoulder.

"There's a little baby in there."

"Yeah. It's making me feel like hell, though. Why don't we get the laundry done, yeah?"

"No, I'll do the laundry and you can lay down. I'll bring you some....what are you craving? I know pregnant women get insane cravings, like pickles and ice cream."

"Babe, I'm fine. I can totally help you with the laundry. I don't want you to do all of it by yourself."

"You can help me put the laundry away. I'll lay with you between loads, then I'll give you one of mine." He said as he kissed her neck, moving his hands further south. His finger tips got underneath the waistband of her underwear before he retracted them. "So, exactly three whole dill pickles with a mountain of strawberry preserves?"

It was the perfect night for what they had planned, Gee's favorite marvel cartoons were on, she had the #1 craving she's had right in front of her, and Frank would be out soon for some cuddling- but at the moment, he was going around the house, collecting discarded laundry around the house. He found a pair of his underwear stashed away underneath the cat bed with a condom wrapper buried within the fabric.

Maybe he was just didn't and threw the padded bed over the mess, or Mitch did it for them. Either way Frank didn't care, he wasn't very keen on doing laundry. He would rather wear his clothes for weeks on end, than do his laundry, though he'd still do it if he absolutely had to.

Because they were underneath Mitch's bed, he thought that they were chewed up or scratched, but they weren't, just wrinkled. After he gathered all of the clothes, he took them down to the laundry room and put them in the washer, not bothering to sort them. He was able to do two loads of laundry at once, conveniently, as they had two sets of washers and dryers.

Then after the laundry was all squared away, he went to his office to do some paperwork. He decided that he'd get that done first then make dinner, Gee said that she would help him with dinner at least, but before she got the chance, she fell asleep on the couch with Mitch curled on her lap. All of the stress and pregnancy had caught up to her, allowing her to crash harder than a semi-truck in a slick road.

Gee slept peacefully, her head resting on a pillow with one hand between them, she dreamed of Frank and his happiness, as usual. However , a good while later she was awoken by Mitch meowing in her ear, his food bowl was empty and he was starving.

Upon pouring food for the feline, she heard a thumping coming from the laundry room. Maybe Frank was washing an old pair of Nike sneakers, or he forgot to take a belt off of his jeans and it was smacking around inside of the washing machine, but she really didn't care, she just wanted Frank to come and lay with her. She made her way towards Frank's office, a cold beer in one hand.

"Hey, how's the paperwork coming along?" She asked as she leaned against the door frame, taking a swig of the alcohol. "I brought you some good ole beer."

"Almost done, just gotta sign these bastards and fax them over to Jen." He replied, keeping his eyes on his computer. "Thank you, baby. When I come out, you better be naked."

She giggled as she sat the bottle on his desk, she kissed his cheek, but as she went to pull away, she felt his hand on her arm, pulling her arm back so she wouldn't be able to leave, ever so gently. He whispered something in her ear, making the hair on the back of her neck stand up.

"Frank..." she mumbled, biting her lip. Her cheeks burned a crimson. He pulled away from her, he kissed her cheek before resuming to his paper.

She walked out of the office, as soon as she made it out of the door, she pulled her jeans down and tossed them into the laundry room. Though, something caught her attention, how rough the washing machine was. It brought her back to high school, sneaking down to the laundry room to "do the laundry".

Old habits die hard, but this one would never die, instead, it would continue on.

Frank was busy, and she didn't want to pull him from his work so he could like help her out, she just decided to deal with it by herself. He would be out soon, though, but that wouldn't be for another half an hour or so.

Mitch was occupied on the couch with one of his toys, and Frank was busy with work, she snuck off into the laundry room and closed the door behind herself.

Bringing out the box of various sex toys was an option, she could've went up to their room and brought out the crate, but she didn't, instead she kept her attention on the washing machine.

She was left in a pair of satin black panties. Then, set the washer with Frank's shoes, for about 15 more minutes and sat on top of the machine.

"Oh-oh my god." She gasped slightly, the numerous pairs of shoes thumping against the washer, causing it to vibrate.

It didn't provide a lot of pleasure, but it was enough to send shocks through her body, making everything inside of her ignite. The way her body was positioned, the vibration hit directly on her clit. The words he said echoed through her head, an extra stimulus.

Back in his office, he finally finished up the last bit of work he was doing, leading him to leave the office and head towards the living room, his mind and body working together in arousal. As he got closer, he could hear Gee whimpering and panting from behind the closed doors. At first he thought something happened, but she was fine. He pushed open the two doors, revealing what was almost a fantasy.

"Gee, are you..."He went to ask, but stopped himself as he saw her on top of the washer, no pants on and her head thrown back. "..oh my god, what do we have going on here?"

Gee didn't get embarrassed that her husband just caught her masturbating, it aroused her so much that words couldn't explain, only her body.

"Frank-help.." She panted, gripping the edges of the washer. "You did this to me, now you're gonna help me fix it."

"Holy shit, yes." He nodded eagerly, quickly moving over to her, grabbing her hips, pulling her closer and pressing his lips against hers, then trailing his kisses along her jawline and down to her neck.

"Please." She whimpered, wrapping her legs around his waist and grabbing his hair.

He removed his hands from her just for a minute, so he could unbluckle his pants and push them down around his thighs.

Though before he could pull his boxers down, he realized that another round of sex would be tiring for not only her, but himself.

He wasn't gonna stop, they both needed to get off, because they can't walk in on something like that and expect to not get off. She begged him to fuck her, either it be in her cunt, mouth, or anywhere else, but he knew it was the lust talking.

He wasn't going to give into her pleads, so he just thought of something else, something that would still get them off in a timely manner. It didn't take very long for him to go from flaccid to fully hard because of what he just walked in on, or planned to do. He removed his hand from his crotch, put his hands on her hips and thrust his hips forward as he kissed her pretty, pink, lips.

"Shit." He hissed, keeping his hands on her hips.

"Fuck, faster." She mumbled against his lips, her legs wrapped around the small of his back. And he did what she wanted, his grip tightened on her hips as he humped her faster and harder, groaning lowly as he did so.

Frank grabbed her hips again, pushed her legs apart and moved in between them. He went quicker and harder this time around, eager to get himself and her off. The moment was heated and sexual, their lips were locked as their hips collided like cars, his hands moved up to pull her breasts out of the top of her shirt, his tongue swirled around her nipples as his hands squeezed the plump flesh.

It hurt just a little bit, but not to the point where she wanted him to stop, it was a pain that was just on the line between pain and pleasure, adding the feeling of his hard dick rubbing against her harshly, overpowered any pain that she could've felt.

After a few more moments of frottage, Gee was first to orgasm, the strong combination of neck kissing, dirty talking, humping and boob touching was more than enough to send her flying over the edge. Her thighs shook and tensed, her hands desperately gripped onto the back of Frank's shirt as she let out small pants and moans.

Frank wasn't too far behind her, with his boxers doused in pre-cum and a bit of sweat, the ball in his abdomen tightened and un-tightened with every second that passed. As his body tended as his orgasm came over his body, his hips shuttered and his toes curled, he growled and panted as he came, a wet spot grew wetter on the front of his boxers, staining them. Their bodies moved together as their orgasms were ridden, which left them panting and overcome with the strong, yet euphoric feeling of esctasy.

Frank panted and wheezed, sweat dampening his skin and hair. "Are you alright, darling?"

"I'm more than alright. Fuck, I forgot how much I love that, but I'd rather have -" She was cut off by Frank kissing her lips, her nose, and then her forehead.

"The pleasure was all mine." He smirked, kissing her forehead again before he stripped himself of his ruined boxers, he tossed them into a pile of already dirty laundry that contained more than one pair of the underwear.

"I didn't mean for you to like, you know walk in. By the way."

"Sure, Jan. You totally planned it, why else would you be using our washing machine as a vibrator?"

She rolled her eyes as she jumped off the washer, stripping herself of her own underwear what were soaked. She snatched a pair of pajama pants that weren't exactly washed, but she could still wear them. There was something black, little, and seemingly new stuck to them, she took them in her hand, unfolded the clothing and observed it.

"Gee- wait, don't look at that." He gasped, running over to her and trying to snatch the clothing from her hand, yet she held it higher so he couldn't grab it easily. "C'mon, it's supposed to be a surprise, just give it to me and forget that you even saw it, you aren't supposed to until much, much, later."

"Hey, Frank, it's okay. It's probably just some old boxers of mine." She shrugged it off like nothing happened. She shoved him away gently and continued to even out the fabric. Upon further inspection, she came to realize that it was a onesie that had sharpie written on it in silver, "Cherry B. Iero"

Her heart suddenly felt warm and her eyes softened, easily it was one of the cutest things that Frank has ever done. They just discussed a name, but they didn't set it in stone.

"It's a present, for the baby." He started, "I wanted to give it to you when we found out the sex, but like, clearly I need to work on hiding shit. I know you're still kind of on shaky ground, since the twelve weeks aren't up, I am too, but like, I want you to know that our little blueberry will be a raspberry, then a strawberry, and whatever food it's gonna turn into next. I just, I have such a good feeling about this little one, soon, it'll be popping out of you. "

"Frankie.." She sighed, turning around to face Frank, the onesie in her hand. "I'm just a little scared, you know? I don't know what'll happen to us if the baby doesn't make it, but I try not to think about it because I want to think on the bright side, even though I'll go blind."

"Gee, just, trust me, please? Our little baby is going to be totally fine. I can't fix what happened in the past, neither of us can, but we just gotta chill out and think about the future with our child."

She looked up at him with glassy eyes, what he said touched her soul and heart in a way she couldn't explain. The timing wasn't perfect, as just less than ten minutes prior, they were humping each other like wild animals, but it still meant a lot to each of them.

"We're having a baby." She whispered, looking down at the onesie as her fingers traced over the sharpie. "I'm having a baby with you, the best husband ever." 

He grabbed both of her hands, nudged her nose with his, and then kissed her lips, long, soft, and sweet. He wanted to tell her that things would be fine, despite the past or what Donald had said, he jammed an unreasonable amount of doubt in her head. She was doing fine for a bit, but then he came along and scrambled her mind up like eggs. Together, she and Frank kept each other on flat ground, but some thing could come around and undo all of that.

"I love you." Frank whispered as he kissed her gently. "Let's go lay down, yeah? The laundry can go fuck itself."

She nodded and kissed his nose. One of her hands held his as they walked out of the laundry room, while the other clutched onto the onesie. Though, she might not dress their child in it, she would just frame it and hang it in their bedroom as a memento. It was so small, pointless maybe, but it was just that little gesture that touched her heart. In an odd way, it eased any doubt in her mind. Maybe things will be just fine, maybe she's worrying too much, but maybe something will come along and lose the things they thought they'd never lose.

They left to hang out on the couch with bowls of coffee, and chocolate ice cream. Frank rested his head on her lap with the bowl on his as they both watched The Brady Bunch. .

Though, after a while, she became incredibly queasy. She insisted that didn't bother her, but Frank insisted that she should eat something to keep herself from vomiting everywhere , despite what she was preaching. He gave her a stack of saltine crackers and a glass of club soda, two of her least favorite things.

Until it got too late, they remained in the couch with minimal breaks. Mitch laid with each of them, his little legs on Frank and his head on Gee, all stretched out and content as could be. Frank put on a documentary about pregnancy and childbirth, he insisted that they should watch it so they could have an idea about what they should expect or do in the upcoming months, as neither of them were prepared at all.

In eight months, they're going to have a living, breathing baby in their home. They weren't quite ready to raise a little baby into an adult, but they really didn't know anyone who was, Lindsey wasn't, Kristin probably is, that woman has probably read every pregnancy book out in the world, and above all else, her dad wasn't, but he raised two children on his own, granted Elena helped him a lot, he did a good bit of it on his own.

Just as long as they didn't overthink or jinx anything, and did everything the doctor tells them to, then it'll be okay.

Frank was a little squeamish about the childbirth part, in the way that an entire human would come out of Gee's vagina, or it would be sliced out of the womb. It kind of nauseated each of them, but when the newborn babies came on screen with their itty bitty feet, hands, and nose, their hearts filled with love and it almost felt real to them.

Then, Frank suggested that they bought some pregnancy books, take up some Lamaze classes, or discuss the birthing process with their doctor. Maybe they could even discuss what kind of birth would be best, there were just so many, all of them seemed like they would be good for her and their baby, but Frank needed to do some research first.

"Baby, are you sure that we're not jumping ahead of ourselves? I'm only in the like, blueberry stage of pregnancy."

"Nah. That blueberry will be comin' out of your vagina in no time." He said, and she giggled. She knew what he meant, but it didn't make it any less disgusting. The women in the videos seemed like they were giving birth to a chainsaw, like it was the worst pain they've ever felt, but Gee - she didn't think that it could be that bad, maybe she'll get word form Kristin when she gives birth to Rowan.

Two new babies in the family, both born only months apart. Maybe it would be two, maybe it would be four, neither of them would know for another month. Christmas won't be the same, between a stranger that wanted to snatch a husband, and three new little announcements, it's bound to be the best one.


	8. Old Faces

Thanksgiving is a day that families come together to celebrate God's blessings. Many religions celebrate Thanksgiving, some don't. Some people just don't really care about the holiday, and Frank Iero was one of them. He rarely cared about holidays, such as Thanksgiving and Christmas, he preferred Halloween above all else that occurred around the calendar.

That time of year had come once more, even though it seemed like it had just happened. Preparations weren't started, as he had his hands full with something else that was far more important than the holiday. Though the night prior, his mother, Linda had called him about the plans, and Frank had accidentally said that they would have Thanksgiving at his house, with Gee.

Their families were due to get together in order to celebrate the holiday, but neither side could expect what would unfold that strange, crisp, day in November.

-

The morning of Thanksgiving, Frank had woken up with a visitor between his legs, it stuck up straight like an antenna that he wanted to get Gee's help in removing. But she unfourtantley, wasn't in one of those moods. The symptoms of pregnancy had caught up to her, the nausea, bloating, and mood swings had hit her in full swing that morning, even getting out of bed would be a challenge for her.

"You know I'd love to help you out, but I just, the pregnancy babe, it's really kicking my ass this morning." She grumbled from under her pillow.

He attempted to lift up the black covered pillow that she was hiding under, but she pulled it back down and moved away from him, just slightly.

"No-No, don't do that. The sunlight's making me nauseous, the darkness helps."

"What's wrong?" genuinely curious, he placed a hand on her shoulder. Frank was a little worried about his wife, she wasn't known for feeling sick, especially to the point in which sunlight would make her toss cookies.

"My stomach is like, very queasy. My head hurts, I have to piss every five fucking minutes, and I'm just, miserable." she groaned. "We really should've used a condom, I can't continue this for eight more months."

"You can do it, baby, I believe in you. I think once you reach like, a certain point in your pregnancy, you'll feel like a brand new lady." he tried to be supportive, "I'll be right back, alright? I'll get you some water and something for your stomach."

It was a very nice gesture, Frank knew she wasn't feeling well, so he went down to their kitchen to get her a snack of dry toast, and a glass of ice water. They were sat down on her nightstand and the grey curtains were closed, the sun was shielded by the cloth, only a small ray of sunshine peeked through.

As she rested under the duvet and tried to keep her stomach contents in the organ, Frank went into their connecting bathroom to shower and make some parts less noticeable. He stayed under the steamy water for a while, washing his hair and his body, music played through a speaker as he got his day started.

By the time he was done showering, Gee had fallen asleep once more. Half of her toast was done, and a third of her water had been drunken from the glass, it made Frank feel a little better knowing that she ate something and kept it down, judging by the lack of vomit next to or on their bed. He didn't want her to worry when she woke up and saw that he was gone, so he wrote her a note explaining his whereabouts. The note was stuck on his pillow, easily accessible so she didn't have to look hard for the note. Once it was in place, Frank locked up the house and left the home, a whole agenda waiting to be completed.

-

Two hours later, around 9 A.M., Gee woke up. A little rest seemed to be what she needed, as the nausea was barely there, but in the back of her mind she still had a bit of a headache, but it was nothing a warm, cup of tea couldn't fix.

Soon after she pulled herself together, she left for the shop with a list of things she needed to purchase for the vegan, and non-vegan meal that was due to take place. Frank called her as she drove to their grocery store, he wanted to check up and make sure that she was doing alright, as the baby seemed to make her quite sick. He had also asked her to pick up a thing or two extra from the shop, as he had forgotten to pick them up previously.

While on the phone, Gee heard a buzzing noise in the background, it sounded like hair clippers from a barber shop, but she couldn't be sure on what it could be other than that. Frank must've been getting his hair clipped, since his hair was nearing his shoulders.

Forty-five minutes passed before she got to the shop, it would've taken her less time but she had to stop, get gas, and root beer flavored gum. She walked around the shop for close to an hour, gathering all of the supplies that they needed for the evening.

After she got all of the groceries and they were paid for, she took all of the bags and carried them out to her car. Since it was very close to the holidays, it was hard to find a decent parking spot, so she ended up parking at the end of the lot.

As she finished placing the bags in the trunk of the car, a huge wave of nausea came over her. It was exactly how she felt earlier that morning, but this time she had vomited behind her car. Her body was hunched over with a hand on her stomach, the other held onto the side of her car for balance.

"Ma'am, are you alright?" A lady asked as she stopped beside Gee. She had blonde curly hair, and seemed to be in her late thirties.

"Yeah, uh, it's just morning sickness."

The lady understood, as she stated she had been pregnant twice before. The woman handed Gee a towelette to use for her mouth, and a bottle of water to prevent her from becoming dehydrated. Gee thanked the lady once she had felt well enough to stand. Before farewells were said, the woman had a recommendation for a Lamaze class that Gee didn't ask for. She was handed a sticky-note with the address to the building.

Gee wasn't considering the fact she would have to attend one, but the lady was the little reminder she needed. On her way home, thought about the idea of a Lamaze class, and that Frank would totally be into the idea, so he could learn more about pregnancy, and to be there for his wife during those long nine months.

Thus, when she got home, she brought it up while they stood in the kitchen, unpacking the grocery bags and preparing food for the upcoming holiday.

"So, at the shop today, when I was going out to my car, I got super fucking nauseous, And a nice lady came over and we talked, she gave me this address for a pregnancy class."

"Where is it?"

"Near Mikey's house. It's like a pregnancy yoga thing. ."

"That's a wonderful idea. When's the next class, or meeting, or whatever it's called?"

"Really? You won't be uncomfortable or anything?"

"Gee, I've seen your vagina, I love vaginas. You really think I'll be uncomfortable at a place where you talk about babies, vaginas, and boobs?"

" I can drive us, it can't be that bad. I mean, I drove us from New York to Jersey."

"We can go only if you feel up to it, lay down while I get dinner started."

"I'll be alright, I can make the pumpkin batter."

"Don't push yourself, like, lay down if you feel sick." he said, and she nodded. Then they went on with preparing the main parts of dinner, the things that would certainly take a lot of time to bake. It would be a lot of prep, a couple of hours worth, but it wouldn't put a damper on their day.

-

"You okay? You seem a little worried." Frank had asked her as they pulled up to the building. He had noticed that she seemed to be a bit nervous about something, her anxiety probably had spiked on their way to the place.

"Something doesn't seem right about us going, I don't know, like, it's hard to explain." she said as she chewed her thumb nail, her hands shaking slightly.

"It'll be fine. Don't psych yourself out."

"Do we have any xanax laying around?"

Frank's attitude changed then, and Gee could tell. It was a joke that held a little too much weight for both of them. It was a bit of a sensitive topic for the both of them, as she was an ex-addict to not only Xanax and a heap of other drugs, but alcohol as well.

Back in her college, and post college days, she needed xanax to function, a long with alcohol and a mixture of other drugs. It was a rough time for not only her, but for Frank as well. The decision to become clean, happened after she realized she was choosing the drugs, and alcohol over Frank, and she didn't want to lose him over something that made her depressed and extremely suicidal. But she had done a lot to get better, though occasionally she will pop a Xanax, or have a few drinks, and cigarettes were her new addiction. It was a rough topic for her, so she didn't like to think about it often or be reminded of it.

-

The two got out of the car, then made their way into the building that had a silhouette of a pregnant woman plastered on the front, "Lamaze by J" was the name, it wasn't a place they've really heard of before. The receptionist directed them to go through twin glass doors, and they did as the receptionist said and went through the two doors.

In the middle of a room, stood a lady who seemed to be the instructor, or teacher. She had black, shoulder length hair, straight across bangs, pointy nose, and was a little chubby. She had a familiar face, one that they could almost remember.

"Frank-" She mumbled, elbowing her husband.

"Holy shit. That's Jamia. Jamia fucking Nestor."

Jamia Nestor to be exact. She was the one who Frank broke up with to be with Gee, it was a rough path from 12th grade even until college, when all ties were cut completely with the black haired fiend.

"Well, it's nice seeing you again. Iero." She smiled at them, her arms crossed. "And I see you brought your..husband? We get a lot of gay couples wanting to learn about this stuff."

"Uh, that's Gee, you know, my wife?"

"Oh right. I couldn't tell because she's a little bigger than most women. No offense."

"Watch it." Gee said with a cocked eyebrow, almost snapping. "Actually, I think we should go-"

"There's a mat over there. We typically have dad sit behind mom with his hands on her belly." Jamia instructed, pointing to a empty, black mat. "We just got started, so you're just in time."

With a lot of hesitation, then sat as Jamia told them, Frank sat behind her with his tattooed hands on her belly, the very small, almost unnoticeable bump cradled in his hands.

"A lot of parents lose their connection when children are their main priority, especially those who married young. You and your partner need to find time to appreciate the fact you're together, and not just for the kids." She explained, sitting in the middle of the circle. "I want each of you to look at your partner, and tell them what you love most about them. Frank, you go first."

"Of course." He nodded. He wasn't exactly paying attention to what she was saying, so that was kinda embarrassing. "I really don't know where to start with Gee. I love everything about her, she's the physical embodiment of perfection."

Since they both had to do it, Gee was a little annoyed with Jamia already, her attitude was awful, like they had picked up right where they left off, but she pushed that a side for the sake of keeping things civil.

"Words can't explain how much I love him, even through our ups and downs. Everything about him is insanely amazing, it's hard to choose a handful of things I love about him."

Frank kissed her cheek after she had said that, and Jamia saw. The green eyed monster crept into her mind, but tried her best to fight it off. It still stung as bad as it once did, just slightly worse.

The rest of the class dragged on agonizingly slow, as Jamia mainly showed everyone diagrams of how the baby develops, explained a few things and handed out copies of "What To Expect When You're Expecting."

Frank and Gee both made a promise to not go back to that place, as it would be way too awkward to have someone like Jamia, who had a great deal of issues with in their past, to teach them all about pregnancy and the developing baby. Though, it would be a promise that would accidentally be broken when an unsuspecting guest would show up.

-

Frank's mom was in their home when they got back, she was in the kitchen, setting the table and putting things in the oven. They all greeted each other, and discussed what was new in their lives. It was hard to not say anything about the unborn baby, as they were in a very critical state in the pregnancy where it would be very easy for them to lose the baby, but Linda had already found out. There was an ultrasound photo on the kitchen counter, that had been there since their first visit with the OB.

Kristin, Mikey, Lindsey, and a handful of other guests soon showed up at the home shortly, all carried something for the meal. Linda promised to not utter a word about the pregnancy to anyone, but she was very excited about the new grandchild joining the family. aside from her, Lindsey knew, as she was there when Gee found out that she was pregnant.

They all went into the living room to watch the football game, all except Gee, Frank, and Lindsey. Gee stood at the stove, mashing the sweet potatoes as Lindsey and Frank sat at the table, each with a beer. Frank though, he came over to check the progress.

"I'd rather smash you." Was whispered in her ear by Frank, who hugged her from behind and kept his chin on her shoulder.

It spooked her, she jumped and accidentally and threw a spoonful of potatoes at him. He thought she was playing around, so he grabbed a spoon of the same substance and threw a bit right back at her. She retaliated, another piece of potato was thrown at him. It was then when just an innocent joke, escalated into them both throwing food at each other. Frank threw a spoon of gravy at her, then she threw a spoonful of stuffing at him.

Lindsey, even though she wasn't involved in the situation, joined in on the growing food fight in the kitchen.

Gee grabbed the silver gravy boat, and poured it down the front of Franks pants. The thick, brown, turkey flavored gravy slowly dripped down his pants, it made him feel uncomfortable and dirty, as expected.

As this whole fiasco went on down the hall, Mikey, Kristin, various family, and Frank's mom were all in the living room. Linda had gotten up to grab a glass of water during the game, the kitchen was down the hall.

Though when she got to the kitchen, instead of seeing Lindsey, her son, and Gee peacefully making dinner, She saw Gee with cranberry sauce in her hair, potatoes,and gravy on her shirt. Frank with potatoes on his face, in his hair, turkey on his shirt and gravy down the front of his paints.

Right as Frank went to grab the pumpkin pie, she busted them.

"Frank Iero, put that pie down." She snapped, startling them. "Gee, Lindsey, refrain from throwing anything else."

"Mom? I can explain-" The man gasped, the pie quickly being sat back on the table. His hands flew in front of him, like as an act of defense.

"You can explain yourself after you get cleaned up, now go upstairs and get cleaned up. Both of you."

Frank didn't want to get into any trouble with his mom, and Gee didn't want to get in any trouble with her Mother- In- Law, so they both walked out of the kitchen, their heads hung in shame.

They had to walk by the living room in order to get to the stairs, so Mikey, and Kristin saw them in their most shameful moment.

"What happened to you two?" They were asked by Kristin, the lady walking out of the living room.

"She started it!" Frank said as he shoved Gee, who got shoved back in return. She sniffled, using her sleeve to wipe her nose. "He put green beans down my shirt."

"At least it wasn't something gross."

"I fucking hate green beans." She mumbled, her hands pulled her shirt away from her chest, so all the green beans would fall onto the floor. Mikey and Kirstin giggled at the sight, then left to finish watching the football game.

-

After their shower, they went back downstairs, Linda had managed to clean up the kitchen, and the pile of green beans in the hall, and she had to make a little more food because the rest was in the trash or on their clothes.

His mom told them to go sit in the dining room while she finished getting everything together, even though they offered to help.

Mikey, Lindsey, family, and Kristin, were already in there, Lindsey was texting her husband, and Mikey and Kristin were talking.

"Hey there you two are, I thought Frank was getting lucky." Lindsey said, looking up from her phone.

"She's still walking, isn't she?" Frank smirked, pulling out a chair as he sat down.

"Frank!" Gee gasped, smacking his arm. "Not in front of my brother."

"Well, it's not that bad, compared to the times I've caught you guys." Mikey mumbled, avoiding any eye contact.

"Sorry 'bout that, um. We didn't think you'd show up at our apartment." She blushed, taking a sip from her glass of water.

Linda came into the dining room with the help of Lindsey in carrying the many pans of food into the dining room, everything was placed on the long table as everyone sat around it.

"Now that I've got the food done and the kitchen cleaned, and I hope it stays that way." She said, as she sat down. "I believe it's time for us to say what we're thankful for. I'll start it off."

Then she went on to say what she was thankful for. Her sons, Daughter-In-Law, and the little sweet pea in the family. They all assumed, except for Lindsey, that she was talking about Kristin's baby.

Lindsey went next, she said she was thankful for her husband, and daughter, Bandit. But they weren't with her now, Matt stayed home with lady B while he prepared for tomorrow.

Then it was Mikey and Kristin. They both said similar things, like they were thankful for each other, and their family. And finally, it was Gee, and Franks turn.

"Aw man. I'm incredibly thankful for Gee, and the fact she's stuck with this loser all these years. Uh, my parents, brother, and grandfather. This is our 4th thanksgiving without either of them, and I really miss both of them." He sighed, his hand holding onto Gee's.

"Anthony will come around soon, dear." Linda smiled softly, grabbing her glass of champagne, taking a small sip of the alcohol. "Gee?"

"Hm?" She mumbled, distracted, the pad of her thumb running Frank's wedding ring.

"What are you thankful for?"

"Oh well, um. Frank of course. Mikey, Anthony, basically everyone here. And the uh, the baby. Kristin's baby." She said, voice quiet. "I guess everything's a blessing these days."

"I agree, that's why we should take time, and appreciate the ones we do have." His mom said, her hand grabbing Frank's hand. "Now let's eat before another fight ensues."

They talked while they ate, a lot of the talk was memories with one another, like one of them was about the boys and their mischievous ways as children, and teenagers,

Mikey told a story of when he and Gee were younger, and they went to a rock show and someone kicked Gee in the butt and fell into someone, and tore the skin inside her lip. Frank brought up that when he was in high school, he had this band Pencey Prep, he met someone from a well known band, one of his old favorites.

Gee didn't have much to say, she was more focused on eating because she didn't eat very much that day, and being pregnant, it feels like she had gone days without eating, rather than a few hours. The nausea had drifted away, just in time for her to be able to get something in her stomach.

Later on, they all hung out in the kitchen. But after only a short while, Linda, Mikey, and Kristin, had to leave because it was getting late, and they still had a lot to do. So it just left Lindsey, Gee. and Frank.

"So, have you guys picked out any names?" Lindsey asked, placing a dish in the dishwasher.

"No. We haven't gotten that far yet. But, how did you know you wanted to name Bandit, Bandit?"

"Matt and I were watching Smokey and the Bandit."

"Oh. Well, I don't think I'll be naming my baby Luke, or Leia."

"But, that didn't stop you from naming your tits that." Frank had chimed in, following that up with a swig of Budweiser.

"And what, you named your balls R2D2, and C3PO?" Lindsey replied.

"Oh, fuck you."

"I uh, I think I'm gonna head up to bed." Gee sighed. "Night guys."

"Night Gee." Lindsey smiled, walking over to hug her. Her hands were on Gee's belly, it was a little awkward for Gee, but Lindsey pulled away fast. "And goodnight, sweet pea."

"Goodnight, I love you." Frank rolled his eyes, setting his beer down and walking over to Gee. "I'll be up shortly, or depending on when the Wicked Witch of the West leaves our house."

"Watch it, rat." Lindsey giggled, moving back to her seat.

"Don't kill each other." She snickered as she kissed Frank's cheek before walking out of the room, leaving him and Lindsey behind to hang out. She would've stayed longer but the pregnancy had wiped her out. She left the kitchen with a bottle of water, and their cat followed her out and up to her bedroom.

-

An hour and a half later, Frank came up, but didn't bother her while she read the book Jamia had given them, instead he went into the bathroom to get ready for bed. When he came out, not even fifteen minutes later, she was passed out, and the book laid on her chest.

he didn't want her to break her glasses, so he took them off and sat them back in the case. Though he didn't put the book away. He took it, and read the majority of the useful stuff he'd like to know, about the pregnancy, he only read the first two chapters. After reading, he sat the book on his nightstand, kissed Gees cheek, turned his lamp off, and went to bed with Gee right next to him.

Frank had a bit of a hard time sleeping, as he was excited about what he had planned for the next day, it was something he had been planning for a while and had finally taken he steps to make it happen. The news about the pregnancy and the stress that it caused, had given him the perfect reason to arrange something for just the two of them, while they still had the time.

Life was settling down, they were getting used to the fact of becoming parents soon, but they both were completely oblivious to how much more exciting life would get, even before their child would be born.


	9. Oh, The Places We'll Go

The stress of becoming parents can have a great impact on relationships, especially when they have encountered a loss of pregnancy in the past. Denial, anger, and fear can all be common in the beginning of a pregnancy. Parents will try and distract themselves from those feelings by doing something for just them, such as going away for a while, to keep the attention on themselves for a while before the baby arrives, and to relieve some stress.

Frank Iero had that idea in mind, and had been planning It for some time. Even before the pregnancy was revealed, Frank and his wife wanted to take a trip some where, just to get away, and Frank had took the opportunity to arrange plans for them to fly to the City of Love, or known as Paris, for a few days. The trip had risen some suspicion in the home. but Frank had wanted to wait until they were safely landed to tell her, as he didn't want her to worry about getting on a plane. It was a major fear of hers, but he thought that is they show up at the airport, she wouldn't have much time to worry.

The morning they were due to take off, Frank had woken up well before Gee, so he could make her breakfast in bed, he hoped that her morning sickness wouldn't be in full swing so she would feel well enough to go.

He woke her up with a tray full of her favorite breakfast foods, and a rose for garnish in a glass vase. He made sure that she was awake before he left, as he had some loose ends to tie up before they were due to leave. Frank had told her to relax while he was gone, he wanted her to curl up with a good book for the day, maybe take a bubble bath, or anything that would relax her. Gee wasn't allowed to smoke, take any medication, the things that typically subsided her anxiety, so Frank thought of some different things to help with that.

Gee was touched by the gesture, even though Frank made her breakfast in bed quite often, it still made her happy every time it was done because it was the thought. As she ate, Frank told her that after she was done with breakfast, there was a gift under the bed for her. He left shortly after he made breakfast, it meant that she would be left alone in the house for a short period of time in the home.

After she ate and cleaned up the dishes, she took a look under the bed and found a box. On top of it was the newest edition of her favorite comic, and in the box, she found black dress, a brown leather jacket, plaid scarf, and brown bootie shoes. something that was more feminine than her usual style, but was still gorgeous and perfectly matched on her eyes. Since she was still in the very early stages of pregnancy, her belly didn't poke out, which made it a lot easier to find clothing that fit her.

Gee figured that he had a date planned, for them to go out to their favorite restaurant, go out for a walk around town, and end the night with a relaxing evening in front of their fireplace, or a comforting night in their bed after a session of sex

Gee figured that he had a date planned, for them to go out to their favorite restaurant, go out for a walk around town, and end the night with a relaxing evening in front of their fireplace, or a comforting night in their bed after a session of sex. It excited her to think she and Frank would have a date that night, as they haven't had much time to go out for one in a while. Between work and various stressors in their life, finding time for themselves has been nearly impossible.

For a few hours while Frank was gone, Gee sat in her favorite chair and read her comic. Then, after a lot of reading, when it was nearing the time that Frank would be home from his errands, she took a shower and dressed in the outfit Frank had given her.

While she was in the bath, she thought about everything recent in her life. The baby, Frank, the situation with her father, it was something she would hope blow over once Donald had come to his senses, it was a horrible night when Gee told Donald about the baby, as he just lashed out in a way. She wanted him to be apart of her child's life, but they both just need some time to breathe and think about everything.

The dress was a little snug around the chest area, but not the point where it was uncomfortable, it was something every pregnant woman experienced, and it was kind of a inconvenience sometimes. The shoes felt the same, her feet and ankles swelled a bit, as it was a normal symptom of pregnancy. After she had gotten dressed, she went downstairs to make a cup of tea, and continues to read her brand new comic.

-

Frank had spent nearly four hours with his friend, Matt, but then he had to leave. Not to go back to his home, he had a few stops to make. First to the flower shop, and then to the cemetery. He bought one bouquet of red flowers, and the other white.

He had made it to the cemetery with the hour, with the bouquet of white roses in his hand. the intention of as to clear out the old flowers, and pay his respects to his Grandfather that had passed away just a few years prior.

It took him a while to find his Grandfather's tombstone, but he finally found it. He kneeled in front of it and replaced the old, dried out flowers with a bouquet of fresh, beautiful flowers.

"Hey, Grandpa. I know I don't visit this often, but I just, have a few things I wanna tell you." Frank mumbled, looking down, his eyes already tearing up. "The company is doing well, we hired Michael back, and everything has skyrocketed."

Michael was his grandfathers best friend, and helped the company grow to its size. It was perfect timing, too, because then Frank could take some time off for himself, Gee, and the baby.

"And uh, another reason why I came today is because. Gee, she's um. She's pregnant. We're uh, we're gonna have a baby."

And that's when he started to cry, tears dripped down his cheek, slowly, and landed on his jeans. "I wish you were here to meet him or her, they'd love you, so much." He sniffled, picking the petals off of the dead roses. "We're a little scared about losing it, like what happened with the other baby, like, fuck."

Frank was awfully sad about the fact his Grandfather wouldn't be able to meet his unborn child, his grandfather was his best friend and the man he looked up to the most, he wanted him to be there to teach his child everything that he taught Frank, but that wouldn't happen, it was left up to Frank to be that person in his child's life.

He knew that it would be rough to think about, but for a while he didn't have to when he didn't have kids, or when he thought the wouldn't be able to have children, but now that he was expecting his first child, it all came crashing down on him. Frank had done a lot of thinking at the cemetery, about what his grandfather would say to give him guidance in the situation, and what he would do to be as good as his Grandfather was.

Since he had a flight to catch in a few short hours, he had to leave. But before he left, he made sure his flowers were neatly placed against the tombstone. He was a little upset when he got home. Literally, he couldn't remember a time when he was sad while he got the mail. But his day got a whole lot better,when he walked through the front doors, heard music and Gee humming coming from the kitchen.

He didn't want to spook her, so he carefully walked into the kitchen, and peered into the entryway. She was sitting at the kitchen table, her feet kicked up, read the pregnancy book and hummed while The Cranberries played.

"Hey baby. How're you feeling?" He asked as he leaned against the doorframe.

"Hey." She smiled, looking up from her book and putting her feet down . "I'm feelin' alright, what about you?"

"I don't know, to be completely honest." He sighed, walking over and sitting next to her. "But I'm really happy to be back home with you."

"Frankie, it looks like you were crying. Are you alright?" She asked, setting her book down and moving closer to Frank. She noticed his slightly red, puffy eyes.

"Yeah, I'm alright. I just uh. I went to my Grandfather's grave on my way home. I-I told him about the baby." His eyes began to fill up with fluid again.

"Hey, it's okay. Don't cry." She quickly said, grabbing his cheeks and kissing all over his face. "You don't have to explain what happened, it's alright."

"I just really miss him, Gee. I want him to be there when the baby is born. I just, I would give anything for him to be there for our kid, he could teach them everything that he taught me."

"Shh. I know, I wish my grandmother was here too. But I know, they're both watching over us." She soothed, running her fingers through his hair. "I'll make you a cup of tea so you can relax, alright?"

"You look stunning." He smiled softly, the sadness slowly subsiding. "You can stay down here while I shower, then we should get going."

"Where are we going?"

"You know, that Italian place near the airport. It's almost impossible to get a reservation nowadays." He said.

"Oh, that sounds lovely." She smiled softly. Frank kissed her, then left the kitchen. He her downstairs, alone, and excited as she and Frank are actually going on a date, it's been so long since they have. It wasn't their fault, they had stuff to do with their business and Gee's side projects.

But at least they were able to catch up on their lost time now, with someone new working at the company and things slowing down a bit with Gee's art projects. They still had to worry about the baby, though, but those few days in Paris were just for them.

Eventually, she switched from her comic to the book Jamia had given her. She discovered a lot of things about pregnancy and what it did to the female body. All of her organs would rearrange themselves as the baby grew, or as her uterus expands. And her spine would also curve weird, which certainly wouldn't help her slipped disc. All of the information she read began to stress her out, so she decided to just wait for Frank.

Nearly an hour had passed before Frank came down. He was dressed in black jeans, a black silk button-up shirt, and leather shoes. A silver chain hung from his neck, a small pendant dipped down into his shirt.

Gee was in the bathroom when he came down, her book and glass still on the kitchen table. But she came out within a few moments, her cheeks seemed a little wiped out.

"You alright? You look a little flushed." Frank asked.

"Fucking pregnancy." She grumbled, but her eyes lit up once she saw him "Holy shit, you look-wow."

"Yeah?"

"Mhm." She hummed, walking over to him. "Don't worry, I used mouthwash."

"I can tell." He chuckled as he placed his hands on her hips, the strong mint aroma filled his nostrils, but he kissed her anyway, her soft lips against his in a sweet kiss. Their moment was ruined due to a horn that came from outside, their ride.

Though they were both able to drive, Frank still called a ride for them as they would be going to the airport after their dinner, that way they wouldn't have to worry about fees that having their car at the airport carried.

The taxi driver was kind, he gave them sticks of gum and played songs of their choice. He tried offering them mini bottles of champagne but they both declined the offer. Gee didn't want to drink as she didn't want to harm the baby, and Frank wanted to wait until they were at the restaurant to drink.

Frank kept his arm around Gee in the car, she rested her head on his shoulder as they drove to the restaurant. Forty minutes later, they arrived at the restaurant that was decorated with twinkle lights. It was already getting dark out, the sun was about halfway set by the time they got to the restaurant.

Frank grabbed Gee's hand and then walked into the restaurant, the hostess stood at her podium with a warm smile on her face. Her hair tied up in a neat up-do, her black pantsuit hugged her figure in a flattering way. She led them to their table that sat in the middle of the restaurant, it had rose petals scattered on the table, tall stick candles illuminated the area, and a bottle of champagne in a bucket of ice.

And for Gee, a bottle of sparkling cider, as Frank had mentioned she wasn't a drinker. Their drinks were already filled, and the waitress told them which was which so she wouldn't end up drinking the alcoholic beverage. Their napkins were unfolded and placed on their laps, the sweet tune of jazz music played in the background, soft enough that it was almost a whisper.

They soon ordered their food, vegetarian things that they loved,. While they waited for their food, they talked about nice things. Like the baby, that Gee thought he was doing wonderfully as a husband, and she was proud of him doing so well with their work.

Frank had noticed how hard she was trying since they found out about the pregnancy, and how proud he was of her trying to be on board with the idea, and look on the bright side of becoming a mother. They both knew it was hard, because of the past, but they were trying to forget about that.

While they talked, their waiter came around with their food, he didn't interrupt the, they just carried on with their conversation. As Frank ate, he was distracted by how Gee looked. She just looked so peaceful and happy, and almost like she was glowing.

"What? Is there uh, is there something on my face?" She asked, looking up as she noticed Frank staring at her.

"No. You just look really good." He smiled softly, his cheeks slightly pink. "I don't know what the hell this baby is doing to you, but I like it a lot."

"I hope not too much, we're in public." She giggled softly, looking over at his crotch as a joke. "But I really love you."

Frank mouthed an 'I love you too' back to her, and then took a sip from his wine. A few drops spilled from the glass and onto his shirt. Red wine would certainly stain the silk, so he was quick to leave to the bathroom to clean the alcohol.

"Wait, you forgot your-" She tried to tell him that he forgot his phone, but it was too late, he didn't hear her. As she sat his phone back on the table, she saw a notification from their local airport, warning that their flight to Paris left in two hours. She was confused, as Frank never brought the topic up before, but that was probably what he had planned for the night as the ending to their night.

The thought of being on a plane instantly drove her anxiety up a wall, her palms became sweaty and it was hard to breathe, her lungs almost seemed non-existent. She picked up her purse to find something for her nerves, like a Xanax or just, something that could help her calm down. Then she remembered Frank had a nice, chilled glass of Italian red wine. In one swift sip, she drank the rest of his wine and refiled the glass so it didn't seem like she had drunken any. The alcohol took a bit of the edge off, but it wasn't going to be enough in the long run.

As the last drop went into the glass, Frank came out of the bathroom. The velvet covered door opened and the man came walking out, he strutted over to the table under the soft glow of the candles around the restaurant. He noticed that something was wrong almost immediately,

"Hey, darling, are you alright?" He asked quietly as he sat back down. "Your hands are shaking, what happened?"

"Well uh," She was faced with a choice, she could either tell him that she knew about the trip and blow his surprise, or she could play it like she didn't know in order to preserve the surprise he had seemed to have planned for sometime. Her gut told her to be oblivious, so that's what she stuck with.

Frank believed her when she said that it was about her pregnancy, and that she had become very nauseous while Frank had went to the bathroom to clean the wine from his shirt. Frank took that as a sign that they had to leave, as the flight was due to take off and they still had to go through security, and the airport would be very chaotic since it was after the holidays.

While Frank paid for their meal, Gee stood outside with a cigarette. She had to smoke quickly so Frank wouldn't catch her in the act, and get upset with her. She had gum in her purse to clear out the stench of smoke that would linger on her breath. smoking was a habit she couldn't kick, no matter how hard she tried, it was like a blanket a child needed to feel safe, that was her safety.

Frank came out right as she stomped out the cigarette, the evidence seemingly destroyed I to a pile of ash on the ground . He bought her a bottle of water to help with her ongoing nausea that the pregnancy plagued her with.

"So, uh, there's something I should tell you. It was supposed to be a surprise but I think I've waited too long to tell you." He told her as he pulled a cigar from his pocket. "Since like, we'll be slammed for a while before and after the baby is born, I figured that I could plan a little getaway for us. We're leaving tonight, I had Lindsey drop off our luggage at the airport yesterday. "

"Oh, really? That sounds uh, that sounds great." she began to get nauseous again. "But Frankie, I-I'm not very good with planes. They scare the shit out of me, like we can die 30,000 feet in the air, I don't want to go out that way, there is shit I still want to do."

"I'll be right there next to you the entire time, our captain knows what he's doing. If you don't want to go, I can cancel our flight-"

"No-No, we don't have to cancel, I just, do you have a Xanax? Or five."

"Gee." his voice had a more serious tone to it, but he understood why she was asking for them. He didn't think that they would be safe for their unborn baby, but he didn't want her to be anxious the entire time they're on their way to Paris, so he told her that he snuck a few into their carry-on bag, and she could have them once they've boarded their plane, so they would kick in by the time they were due to take off.

Their taxi picked them up, and drove them to the New Jersey airport, where they got their boarding passes, went through security, changed into more comfortable clothing, and got a few lattes to hold them over until it was time to board their plane. Gee had taken her Xanax, but she had gotten anxious once more, the Xanax seemed to take more time to kick in.

Frank had talked her down more, and eventually she relaxed, and was able to board the plane without any hassle. She was still scared, it really kicked in when turbulence picked up and nearly scared the shit out of her. but once the turbulence subsided, she slept for most of the flight, as the Xanax had calmed her down enough to the point in which she was able to sleep peacefully on the plane. Frank was a little more restless, so he watched a movie and bought himself a cocktail and a little bag of m&m's before he was able to relax enough to sleep.

There was a child behind him, kicking and wailing because he didn't want to go back home, but Frank simply put headphones in and covered his sleepy eyes with an eye mask that he had tucked away in the pocket of his sweatpants.

Sleeping peacefully on the plane, Frank and Gee just tried to imagine what Paris had in store for them, but the flight was just the beginning of their weekend in Paris, and neither of them knew that the news they were going to receive would be the best part of the entire trip. Despite Disney, delicious food, exquisite hotels, and the sights to be seen in Paris, nothing but that phone call could top it.

Six and a half hours later, the plane had finally landed, and they were finally to their destination - Paris, France. Where mimes wondered the streets, the Eiffel Tower stood tall, the smell of fresh baked pastries and coffee could be smelled through the city, and the women were drop dead gorgeous.

The flight went smoothly, they didn't die in a fiery crash line Gee had feared, but landed smoothly at the terminal. Morning sickness kicked in a bit, so one of the first things that Gee did in Paris, was vomit in one of their toilets that flushed the opposite way than they did in the United States. Frank picked up two coffees since it was still quite early, and coffee calmed Gee's morning sickness in a odd way. They did grab breakfast at the airport, since they needed to eat before anything else would be done that day.

A taxi picked them up from the airport once they got their luggage and Frank, and Gee got Euros rather than American dollars. Their suitcases were loaded into the back of the taxi, and they were on their way to this stunning hotel deep inside of Paris.

They were driven to this hotel that was almost a skyscraper, a matte black color with golden accents. Their room was very high up in the nice hotel, with a perfect view of the Eiffel Tower. The room itself was decorated in red, gorgeously decorated with red and gold, a king sized bed against the wall, a fireplace, a seating area, a master bathroom, and even a mini fridge for booze or any other sorts of drinks. Frank escorted her over to the room's gigantic window, had her close her eyes, and drew the curtains back to unveil the world renowned landmark.

"Welcome to Paris, my love." He whispered in her ear, hands on her waist as she opened her eyes.

"Frank. I-I have no words, just- wow." She mumbled, her mind boggling. "Is this what you've been planning?"

"Yeah. I brought us here, since things have been kind rocky. I figured that we should get away from reality, and just focus on us for a few days." He said, and Gee pulled him in for a kiss, her hands on his cheeks.

He responded by grabbing her waist, picking her up, carrying her over to the bed and setting her down, gently where her head was on the pillows.

"I would've taken you to Italy, but we've been there before. And they don't have fancy as fuck cookies like Paris. And it's much more romantic." He said as he kissed along her jawline. His hands holding himself up.

"I'm just, I-I'm sorry I've been so cranky lately, these stupid hormones are fucking everything up with me."

"Jiggy . It's okay. You're growing a little baby inside of you ." He assured her, moving so he was resting on her thighs. "Wait, can I do something?"

"Hm?"

He didn't say anything else, no. He just unbuttoned like 5 of the buttons on Gees onesie to expose her belly, which I might add, has grown a little bigger in the past week.

Then, he placed both his hands on her belly and said: "Okay. We're in a completely different country, and I don't how you're holding up. But hang in there until we're back in Jersey, alright? And after that, stay with us until August rolls around. I love you."

Gee's heart fluttered at what he just said, plus he looked so happy yet calm at the same time.

And the fact he talked to the baby like it was actually in his arms and could hear? She thought it was utterly adorable. So she reached her hand up, cupped his cheek and called him beautiful.

"Shut up." He blushed, buttoning her onesie back up.

"Can't help it, love. You're adorable." She smiled, looking up at him with tired eyes.

"Oh fuck you." He giggled, rolling his eyes. "Hey, there's this tea shop that has cats. I was thinking that maybe we could go?"

"Wait, so I get to drink tea while I play with cats?"

"Yes. There's also one where it's dogs instead of cats. Could we possibly go to both? He asked, eyes shimmering with excitement.

"What time is it?"

"Uh. Like 4:30 in Jersey, 10:30 here."

"Can we sleep a little more before we do anything? Technically it's still in the middle of the night. We could order room service too."

"Or.. we can go get fancy French coffee. I think it's called espresso."

"Coffee? I'm in."

"Rad. I packed clothes for you, but I'm not sure if they're good for like, going out." He said, getting off the bed and walking over to where their luggage was.

"What do you mean? Like pajamas?"

"Mm, yeah. Sure."

"I would shower, but I think I'd spend all day trying to figure out the shower."

"I'm pretty sure a showers a shower. Or do you just not want to shower ?"

"Maybe a little. At least I showered yesterday." She sighed, walking over to where Frank was. "Oh. So that's where all my shit went."

"Yeah."

"Wait, are you sure it was safe for me to be on a plane? What if the pressure did something to the baby?"

"The other night, you fell asleep while reading that weird book, so I took it and looked some things up, and I asked the doctor last week."

"Is this okay?" He asked, handing her a grey sweater and a black skirt.

"Yeah. Are my converse on there?"

"Yep. Here."

"Thank you." She smiled, kissing his cheek. "Do you think they have Starbucks in Paris?"

"I don't know. Probably, but we don't speak French so it would be really hard ordering shit."

"We'll figure it out. I think."

"While you get dressed, I'm gonna run down to the lobby and ask for candles."

"Okay. If I'm not out here by the time to get back, make sure I'm not sleeping on the bathroom floor." She yawned, walking off into the connecting bathroom.

It was very fancy, there was a dazzling chandelier in there, and soaps shaped like shells and starfish. It had a clean scent, almost like cinnamon or something relating to fall. There was also this second toilet in there, it was strange to have two, and one didn't even look the same as the other.

The paintings In the bathroom consisted of mimes, historical French figures, and paintings of France itself. While she stayed in their hotel room, Frank was on his way down to the lobby to find candles.

Unfortunately, the lady at the desk said that the candles they had on hand were for the when the power went out. But she did say that there was a place next to the hotel that sold things like that.

Though, the only issue was that he only carried U.S currency, and France uses euros. He could just exchange some cash for euros in the store. So, he just went back up to his room and changed into a pair of shorts with a misfits patch, black t-shirt and Nike shoes.

Right as he finished getting ready, Gee came walking out. She looked jet lagged, but also really nice. She also put on a little bit of eyeliner and chap-stick on, and combed her hair a little. It was dark, it was hard to tell if there were any knots or anything.

"Frank, did my sweater shrink in the washer? Or whatever machine shrinks clothes." Gee asked, tugging on the bottom of her sweater. "Everything just seems tighter. Like my underwear and bras."

"No. We just have to get you maternity clothes."

"Did you call me fat?"

"Gee. You're growing a baby inside of you, course you're gonna gain a little weight. But you look cute no matter what." He rolled his eyes, walking over to Gee and kissing her forehead.

"But, then after the baby comes, I'm gonna have all these giant clothes that could've used as a parachute."

"Until we get back home, I don't want you worrying about any of this. It's just about you and I, alright? But if you get to the point where something isn't right, then we can talk about it."

"So, you want me to pretend I'm not pregnant?"

"Of course not. I love that you're pregnant, but we need to focus on our marriage for a bit. Remember what Jamia said?"

"She's not even married, how would she know?" She sighed, walking over to her her phone.

"Baby, she was married. But got divorced, possibly because she and her husband drifted apart. And I don't want that to happen to us."

"But you don't look like lord farquaad. You're more of a human shrek kinda guy."

"I'm flattered. I just love you and don't want us to be like my parents. It fucking hurt to choose between my parents."

"I know baby, but who knows what she says just to scare us."

"Yeah, just do this for us. Okay?" He sighed, placing a pair of sunglasses on his head.

"Of course. But not because Jamia suggested it, but because you want it for us. And I'm all for it." She smiled, walking over and hugging him. "Now lets go drink some tea and play with kittens."

"And dogs. Don't you dare forget the dogs." He giggled, kissing her head before grabbing her hand, and well walked out of the hotel room.

The air was cool when they walked out, leaves swirled in the wind and a little bit of sunlight peeked through the clouds.

Both the sidewalk and road were made from cobblestone, men on bikes drove down the street, often with someone on the back, and women carried shopping bags, purses, or pushed strollers around.

Since they've never been to Paris before, Frank had to look up directions to the pet cafes. They found out, on one side of the cat cafe, was the dog cafe.

The cafe was about a half mile from where their hotel was, so they had a little time to just talk about nearly anything that didn't involve pregnancy, or babies. It felt nice to be able to focus on other things for a while. When they got to the cafe, Frank opened the door with Gee 's hand in his.

Gee told Frank she was gonna go in with the cats, while he ordered tea for both of them. He was cool with it because he didn't really need her then, so he just went up to the counter and ordered tea. He got himself ginger tea and green tea for Gee.

The lady who worked there, spoke both English and French so it wasn't confusing for either of them. And he was able to cash in American money for euros. Then he walked over to the area with the cats, found a table for him and Gee to sit at and sat the cups down. Gee sat on the floor with some cats, two of the same color.

"Frank, look, their names are Muffin, and Mars." She said, holding the kittens up for Frank to see.

"Mars kind of looks like Mitch. Also, I got you green tea with honey."

"Can you bring it over here? I don't wanna let them go." She asked.

"Yeah sure." He replied, grabbing their cups of tea and bring them over to where Gee was.

As soon as he sat In front of her, a black cat came over and crawled onto his lap. His name was Bennie, and he wore a blue leather collar.

Frank thought it was the cutest thing ever, to watch his wife with a few cats on her lap, be very content and relaxed, her pregnancy glow seemed to become a lot brighter.

Then a few more kittens came over and snuggled with both Frank, and Gee, even when Gee sat up, they curled in her lap and played with each other.

After about 45 minutes, they decided to get more tea and then go see the dogs at the other cafe. That time, Gee ordered tea while Frank went in to play with the pups. She ordered herself this rose tea, and camomile tea for Frank, both with organic honey.

When she walked into the room, she saw Frank sitting on the floor and holding about three puppies, he had this cute little smile on his face, and his eyes sparkled with excitement.

He was like a little kid when he was put around dogs, like he really wanted a dog but something always got in the way of that. They planned to get one a few months back, but then Frank had to leave for a while for a business trip, but when he got back, they found out about the pregnancy.

She sat on a chair in front of them, and soon, a Dalmatian puppy jumped onto her lap and curled into a ball. It was sweet to watch Frank play with the dogs, and upon watching him, she figured that she would get him a dog for Christmas.

-

A short while later, they wound up at a small pastry shop. The name of it was in French, but they didn't quite understand what it meant.

The tables were decorated nicely, each had a centerpiece of a bouquet of flowers with lights within them, a nice white table cloth was draped over the table and the chairs had black velvet seats.

Eventually, they decided on a platter of different flavors of vegan macarons, and two lattes. An argument between them ensued, but nothing that had anything to do with the pregnancy, or the baby.

"Frank, Han Solo didn't shoot first, It was Greedo. How many times do I have to tell you that?"

"I know what I fucking saw, he shot first, God dammit." He snapped, though keeping his voice low to avoid drawing attention.

"You really need to stop saying Han shot first, it was obviously Greedo."

"That is absolute bullshit. But I'll make you a deal, next time we watch Star Wars, if Han shot first, you owe me a dog. If Greedo shot first, you get complete control on bed. Deal?" Frank said, quirking an eyebrow.

"A week. Then we have a deal." She replied, grabbing a pastel yellow colored cookie.

"Deal." Frank nodded, taking a grey cookie off of the plate.

Gee's was flavored like caramel, and Frank's was vanilla bean. They both took one bite from their pastries, and instantly fell in love with the French delicacy.

"Holy shit." Frank mumbled, one hand going down to his crotch.

"I never knew a cookie could taste so good. Wait- what are you doing?" She asked, noticing his hand move down south.

"I think I just came." He groaned, dramatically biting his lip and whimpering. "I thought I was gonna go blind."

"Frank! Don't say that when we're in public." She gasped, lowering her voice. "But I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a little bit turned on."

"Right? I wonder what flavor the black one is, coffee, maybe?"

"Then it would be brown, and not black. Wait, it says the flavors on this." He said, grabbing this card the waitress provided. Gee was in fact correct, it was coffee flavored. "Fuck, you're right."

"Mm." She hummed, taking a bite out of one of the halves. She handed Frank the other half.

She was a little hesitant about giving him the other half, because one, this was probably the best cookie she's ever had, and two, she didn't want him to mimic another orgasm.

The majority of the cookies were wonderful, but Gee almost threw up when they stumbled across a butterscotch flavored cookie. Gee absolutely hated butterscotch, it was like old people candy. And when she was younger, Mikey found a whole bunch of them, so they ate all of them before her dad caught them. It was a total disaster that caused her an eternal hatred towards butterscotch.

After a while, they had decided on going to the Eiffel Tower, as it was a major landmark in France.

When they arrived, Frank went and talked to a man that was about 5 feet away from where Gee was, she couldn't tell what he was saying, but he pointed over to her and then to the Eiffel Tower. Then the guy nodded, took Frank's phone and Frank ran back to Gee.

"Come here." Was all he said, grabbing her hand and pulling her to a spot.

Before she said anything, Frank grabbed her hips and kissed her. She was surprised at first, but wasn't upset about it. So, she closed her eyes and draped her arms over his shoulders. Everything else in the world seemed muted, like they were the only ones on earth. The dude just put Frank's phone on the ground next to Frank.

"I love you." He whispered, brushing a piece of hair behind Gees ear. "Even though almost everyone we run into thinks you're my husband, I think you're the most beautiful woman I've ever seen."

"I love you too, Iero." She giggled, kissing his nose. "I swear I fall more in love with you every day."

Frank just smiled, grabbed her hand and then they walked towards the structure. Gee had her head on Franks shoulder as they did, and Franks thumb traced over her wedding ring as they held hands.

There was a guy standing next to the tower selling bouquets of roses. And of course, Frank couldn't resist and he bought Gee a thing of flowers.

The moment was ruined as Frank's phone rang, It was the hotel, the lady said he had to come and sign a few papers to confirm the payment information. Frank told Gee he'd be right back, and she can wander around for a while as he finished up the papers. He gave her $70 worth of euros too.

She of course didn't want him to leave, and she insisted on coming with him. It he said he'd be like 15 minutes, and wouldn't be worth the trip. After he told her that, he kissed her and then jogged off to find another taxi. Leaving her standing next to the Eiffel Tower, holding a bouquet of roses and alone.

Everything in the world seemed dull again, and that she was lost among all those people walking around. She absolutely hated being away from Frank, even for a short period of time.

There was a cute shop next to the tower, so she figured she should go there for a while so she can distract herself.

Lindsey called as she walked towards the shop, so that could help distract her mind for a little while. She wanted to know how the trip was going, and she also suggested that Gee buy a French Maid outfit for Frank.

Gee was opposed to it, because she didn't think Frank would like that. But she also thought she'd look pretty hot in it, so she bought it. It was a little awkward purchasing it. She avoided making any sort of eye contact as she paid for the items, because there's no way the cashier wouldn't know why she's buying it.

Gee still looked around the shop for other things, like she ended up buying berets for herself, Frank, and the baby.

A good 45 minutes passed by since Frank left, and she was starting to get a little worried because he said it would only be like 15 minutes.

She was about to call him, but he already jumped the gun and called her.

"Gee, hey. I need help with all this bullshit paperwork. I sent a taxi to pick you up."

"Oh, okay. Uh, what's the paperwork for?"

"Incase we break something, we have to sign something saying we're gonna pay for it. So uh, I'm gonna go and I'll see you when you get here?"

"Yeah. I love you?" She sighed, seeing the taxi pull up.

"I love you too."

Then, she hung up. This time she turned her phone off completely, wanting to just spend time with Frank, and not to be bothered by nuisances in America.

Long story short, she got into the taxi and drove back to the hotel. It was a few minute drive, and thankfully that weird ass driver wasn't driving her. Frank had already paid for it, so they just dropped her off and drove away.

She didn't see Frank in the lobby, no. Just the lady at the desk and a few other people wandering around. Then she took her bags and carried them into the elevator and went up to their floor.

Their room was dark, Frank had closed the blinds and curtains, just to replace the natural sunlight with candles scattered around the room.

"Frank, baby?" She whispered, losing and locking the door behind her. " Where are you?"

He didn't respond, just the flick of a lamp echoed through the room. He was sitting on the couch, and was possibly holding something. His back was turned so she couldn't really tell.

She walked over and kneeled beside him. He was holding a jewelry box, and his cheeks were tear stained and eyes were a little red, it was more than obvious that he was crying.

"Frankie, are you okay? What's wrong?" She asked, cupping his cheeks and wiping his tears away with her thumbs.

"Gee. I-I uh." He muttered, voice a little shaky.

"It's okay. You can tell me."

He took a deep breath before finally speaking. "Obviously the whole paperwork was bullshit. And I wanted this to be a nice night, but I really fucked up."

"What do you mean?"

"When I-I came back here to set this all up, I wanted to play music on my phone. And I saw there was a missed call from Dr.Cahill."

"Frank, you're scaring me."

"He uh, he said that he did a bunch of shit after your last visit. And when I asked him about you being on a plane, he told me there was something wrong about the ultrasound picture."

"D-Did we lose the baby? Frank-"

"He told us that with those new hormone shots, the chances of carrying them to full term is certain." He admitted. "Like, there's no way you can have a miscarriage."

"What?"

"Gee, baby. We're having twins! A-And he said we're not gonna lose them, we're gonna be parents!"

"Are-Are you serious?"

"I still have the voicemail." He stated, reaching for his phone with shaky hands. He pressed a few buttons before pressing the speaker button.

Then well, her doctors warm voice came through the voice. Frank wasn't lying. She got to hear the doctor saying those exact words for herself.

Almost two months ago, she was certain that this pregnancy was gonna blow up in her face, and she'd lose Frank. But now she had confirmation that everything will be alright.

"Holy shit." She mumbled as the voicemail ended and the realization set in. Frank simply moved the phone to the side, grabbed both of Gees hands and pulled her up onto the couch. Like on his lap.

"I love you, I love you, I fucking love you." She cried, grabbing his head and kissing all over his face. "I'm sorry for what I caused, I'll make it up to you."

"It's in the past, we just need to focus on the fact we're having fucking twins!" He squeaked, eyes sparkling with excitement and tears. "Wait." He added, picking Gee up and carrying her over to the bed, which had scattered rose petals on and well, a condom hidden under the pillow.

He grabbed the hem of her sweater and lifted it up, revealing her tiny baby bump. He placed both hands on it and began talking.

"Hi. It's uh, it's me again. Looks like you are gonna be with us after all. Well, you two. I'm sorry we've been only loving one of you, but we didn't know about the other baby. But uh, hi. I'm your dad."

Gee didn't want to ruin his fun and tell him the twins didn't have ears yet, but she didn't. Because one, she didn't think of it and two, she was sobbing and it didn't cross her mind.

"You, hopefully, won't remember any of this. Or at least that's what the doctor said. Just know, we both love you. So fucking much." He said, leaning down to kiss her belly. One kiss on the left, and the other on the right. The moment that touched both of their hearts died down quickly, the heat suffocating that feeling as Frank's whole demeanor changed.

He looked back up at her with a darkening gaze and a smirk on his face, "Why don't we celebrate, my love?"

They did just that, they celebrated in a way that was common, but unholy in the eyes of the church they never attended. The forty five minutes of love, lust, and everything in between never seemed to end, even with sex out of the equation, their hearts were almost glowing.

However, when it did end as much as they didn't want it to, Frank got out of bed and brought over two bottles of water from the mini fridge, this demon-like thirst overcoming them. He didn't just grab two bottles of water, but a velvet box that had fallen to the floor.

When he came back to bed, he handed her the box. He sat in front of her, awaiting her reaction. Inside the box, contained a gold necklace, with the words "Ti voglio bene fino alla fine del tempo." engraved on the back, and on the front was their wedding date.

She almost cried, she thought it was one of the most beautiful things she's ever seen. Frank clasped it around her neck, then laid next to her with his head on her chest, hearing her heart race.

With the news about the twins running through their minds, they slept soundly that night. It was the clearance they needed to keep their heads above water, but it could only get better from that point on, neither of them knew what could be better than that, but time will only tell.


	10. Two Ieros

Seven and a half hours later, they finally landed back home in New Jersey.

Though about halfway through the flight, they experienced mild turbulence and well. Gee screamed and clutched onto Frank as if her life depended on it. Then when it passed, she started crying and said that they were gonna die.

After that, she tried getting up to use the bathroom, but she almost fell because her legs seemed to quit working. Frank had been asleep when this occurred, so with shaky legs, she made her way to the back of the plane. She did better walking back to their seats, only because the plane evened itself out and wasn't as shaky.

Hours later, when they finally landed, she wasn't as scared as she was on the plane. Like she could actually walk and not think about dying. It wasn't very crowded. So they were able to get out of the place sooner.

"You did it!" Frank said as they walked out of the airport, carrying their bags. "You made it through an entire flight and we didn't die."

"If I didn't find those Xanax, I'd still be in Paris." She yawned, resting her head on Franks shoulder. "Frankie?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm tired."

"We'll be home soon. We just have to wait for Lindsey to pick us up."

"I wish we had more did more, you know during the trip. Why didn't you tell me sooner?"

"I wanted it to be special." He shrugged, pulling his phone out to see if Lindsey texted back.

"It'll always be special with you."

"Of course, love. Oh, there she is." He said as Lindsey pulled up.

The tattooed fiend was still in her pajamas, and to cover her messy bed hair, she just threw a black beanie on.

"Hey sexy. Lookin' for a good time?" Lindsey giggled, smirking at the two of them. "You can put your shit in the back."

"Nope, not from you." He flipped her off, sitting in the back and closing the car door.

"L-Lindsey?" Gee stuttered, losing all color.

"Yeah?" Lindsey replied, driving away from the airport. "Frank, so I was thinking. Do you want me to stop and grab food?"

"Uh..yeah sure." He nodded, looking up from his phone. "Fries and like, it's cool if they accidentally add a few onion rings into the mix. And a veggie burger, heavy pickles."

"Gee, what do you want?" Lindsey asked, turning her turn signal on.

"I-I'm not very hungry."

"C'mon. You're pregnant, you've gotta eat something." She pushed, looking at Gee. "Dude are you okay?"

"Just uh, a little nauseous from the flight. But I'm not a bitch, I can handle a little nausea."

"Alright. But if you puke, puke on the dude who ate all the twizzlers in your house."

"Oh sorry for it being my house and the food I brought, jackass." Frank said sarcastically, kicking the back of Lindsey's seat.

"Dick." She scoffed, she stuck her tongue out in the rear view mirror, just so Frank could see.

They continued bickering as they drove to the nearest Burger King, Frank at one point flicked the side of her head too.

When Lindsey ordered their food, Gee sat with her eyes closed, head against the seat and tried taking deep breaths. She kept telling herself they'd be home shortly, and she could rest for a while, but her brain just kept focusing on the nausea.

After they got their food, Frank gave her a few of his fries. That helped a little, like having something in her stomach calmed things down.

He insisted on giving her two at a time, like he was still excited about the fact they're having twins, so he thought that was a cute gesture.

They finally got to their house around 20 minutes later, and some strange car was parked outside of the house. They assumed it to be their housekeepers car, because once a month someone comes and rids up their house it they aren't there.

Lindsey didn't come in, because she needed to get back to her house with bandit and Matt. So she said goodbye and then drove off. As they wheeled their luggage closer to the house, Gee stopped and started gagging.

"Gee, babe. Can you wait until we get into the house?" Frank asked, he let go of his suitcase so he could get their house key.

Right as he said that, she ran over, and puked behind a bush. One hand stayed on her stomach, while the other held her hair back.

"Stupid blueberries." She muttered, spitting into the pile of vomit.

"Are you alright?" Her husband asked, he brought their bags onto the porch.

"I don't know how I'm gonna get through the next 8 months, nausea is so fucking annoying." She coughed, stepping around the bush and onto the porch.

"It'll be worth it though, because we get two sons out of it."

"Wait, can I give you my uterus?"

"What the fuck." He mumbled, unlocking the door and pulling their luggage inside. "Fuck it's so nice to be back in Jersey."

"I know."

"I'm gonna go take this shit upstairs and I'll be down. Do you wanna watch the walking dead when I come back?"

"Hell yeah. I'm gonna make tea." She said, as she kicked her shoes off, scooting them into a pile.

Then Frank went upstairs and she went into the kitchen. She kept a hand on her belly as she walked down the hall.

When she got into the kitchen. She filled the kettle up with water, brought two mugs down from the cabinet, teabags, and a bottle of honey.

She was focusing on that while two people came into the kitchen and sat at the island. She heard squeaks of the chairs, so automatically she looked behind her shoulder.

"Oh. Hey Anthony, and Mr. Iero." She said casually. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw her best friend, who she hasn't seen in 3 years, and her father in law, who she hasn't seen in over 10.

"A-Anthony?" She stuttered, her body turned back around so she could see them fully.

"Hey, Gee." Anthony smiled, standing up from his seat.

It was only a matter of seconds before Gee ran over and hugged him tightly, her head on his shoulder. He looked great, he grew out a mustache and had more tattoos than he had before.

"I-I missed you, so fucking much." She cried, tears streaming down her face. "You have no clue."

"I missed you so much too, Gee." He smiled, his own eyes became teary eyed. "I have a surprise for you."

"What is it?" She pulled away from Anthony, and sniffled.

"Stay here." Was all he said before leaving the room, and walking down the hall.

Leaving her alone with his dad, the second Frank Iero in the family. He looked well, granted the last time she saw him was around10 years ago.

"Hi." He smiled, walking over and hugging Gee. "You look wonderful."

"Thank you." She mumbled, her arms embracing him. She loved the warmth he gave off, or any of the Iero's, for that matter. They all had this really nice feeling, so comforting, gentle and warm. 

Speaking of Frank. He went upstairs to take their luggage up there, he wasn't gonna bother putting any of it away because well, that'll take too fucking long. So, once they were in a pile in his room, he came back downstairs.

He didn't catch onto the fact his brother and father were in his house, but first he had to use the bathroom. Then after that, he went into the kitchen. Not noticing his dad standing in the middle of it.

"So I was thinking, after the walking dead. We should just, have sex. I found this position online where my dick is right against that spot, just you have to bend a certain way." He said, pouring the hot water into the cups.

"Son, I don't think you should talk that way around your father." His dad said, walking over and placing a hand on his back.

Frank full on froze then. His fathers voice so warm and familiar, making the hairs on his neck stand up and a shiver go down his spine.

The last time he saw his dad was back in high school, like when he and his mom got divorced. He didn't know that Frank was married, but he did know about his dads passing.

"Holy shit." Frank stuttered, turning around to see his dad in the flesh. His curly brown hair was a little grey. "Dad."

It was only a matter of seconds before Franks arms were around him, hugging him tightly. His Dad's cologne seeped into his nostrils. Frank wasn't a fan of his cologne, but it seemed like the best scent ever at this time.

"Y-You've been gone for so long. There're things I-I wish you were there for. " Frank whimpered, tears dripping down his cheek.

"I know, Frank. But I just was too involved in LA." His dad sighed, pulling away from Frank, grabbing a napkin and wiping his cheeks. "I'm really sorry, I should've came down here and visited you."

"No- it's okay. I'm just so glad you're here."

"And I'm gonna stay here, I've closed up things in LA and I'm moving back to Jersey."

"Wait, really?" Frank gasped, excitement shimmering in his eyes.

He looked over at Gee with a bright smile on his flushed face. "Gee, did you hear that? My dad is coming back to Jersey!"

"I-" She went to say something, but Frank cut her off by running over and wrapping his arm around her.

"Dad, um. When you left, Gee and I were just dating, but then we broke up for a while. And like, I've done a lot of dumb things in my life, but that is by far the dumbest." He explained, lip quivering. "And now. She's my uh, she's my wife."

"How long have you been married?" His dad asked, a warm smile on his face.

"4 years in February. And that's not all." Frank said, leaning over and whispering "Can I tell him?" into Gee's ear.

Of course she let him, because he's his dad for Christ sake. But she added on that they aren't telling anyone else until they're all together, like Christmas.

"Dad, don't tell anyone yet, but Gee's pregnant!"

"Oh my god, that's wonderful." His dad gasped, walking over and hugging them. "How far along?"

"Blueberries."

"What?"

"The size of blueberries. I'm about 9 weeks along."

Frank looked at her belly, then up at his dad with tear filled eyes."I'm gonna be a dad."

"Ahem." Anthony interrupted, completely unaware of what they were talking about, as he walked into the kitchen with the surprise.

Milo was there too, he walked aside Anthony as they came into the kitchen.

Anthony was holding a toddler, seemingly 3 at the most. He didn't look like a ventimilga, or an Iero. So he was probably adopted.

"Holy shit." Frank mumbled, looking over at his brother, brother in law and nephew.

"Surprise..his name is Kyle." Milo said, taking kyle out of Anthony's arms. "He's almost four years old, in May he'll be four."

Woah. Anthony's a dad, and Franks gonna be a dad. How cool.

"Kyle, go say hi to Aunt Gee." Milo said, setting Kyle down and pointing over to Gee.

Kyle looked up at Anthony confused, unsure about what he was supposed to do. So, Anthony crouched down and gestured for Gee to come over. And she did, carefully. Not wanting to spook the kid, she sat on her knees behind Kyle.

"Ky, it's okay. Turn around." Anthony urged, placing his hands on kyles shoulders and turning him around.

"Hi." Gee smiled, brushing her hair back.

"Mommy!" Kyle exclaimed, basically jumping on Gee and hugging her.

"Kyle, no. She's not your mother." Anthony giggled, moving over so he was next to Gee.

They all eventually moved into the living room, where they sat on the floor in a circle.

Frank sat next to Gee, Anthony sat next to Milo and their dad sat between Frank and Anthony. Kyle, well he sat in the middle of the circle.

"Guys, don't say the P word. Milo and I are trying to train him and anytime he hears that, his clothes are off." Anthony said, laying against Milo. "This idiot said it in the middle of a k-mart and then we had to find kyles clothes before anything happened."

"How is he gonna like, do that while you're here? We don't have, that stuff." Frank asked, resting his head on Gees shoulder.

"He knows how to use a toilet. Don't swear infront of him. He's like a sponge. It took him two weeks to stop saying the f word after I stubbed my toe and said it."

"Ew.." Gee grimaced, scrunching her nose. "Where are you guys staying, by the way?"

"Dads staying with mom until his place is finished. And I was hoping that my favorite brother and best friend would maybe let us stay until we go back to Cali."

"I would love that. But where's kyle gonna sleep? We don't have cribs either."

"He can sleep with Milo and I."

"Oh alright. Where's your luggage?"

"In the upstairs guest room." Milo said, giggling a little.

Typical Anthony. You can't say no to him honestly, he was usually a really nice dude and sweet. He was a joy to have around.

For the next few hours or so, they all stayed in the living room, just bullshitting and catching each other up on their lives. But neither frank, his dad or Gee mentioned the twins because that was supposed to be a surprise. But Kyle almost spoiled that. He was playing with Gee and he kinda fell, and felt that her belly was a little big.

"Daddy?" He asked, looking over at Anthony.

"Yeah?"

Kyle being only 3, and couldn't form sentences. So he pointed at Gees stomach and mumbled something that only his parents could understand, it was probably something about it sticking out, judging by the response.

"Kyle, you don't say that." Milo gasped, leaning over to pick the boy up. "Gee, I am so sorry. You aren't fat - he's three, he thinks our dog is a monster."

"It's okay." She giggled, her head rested against Frank's chest. "I guess?"

"So, Frank. How's the business?" His dad asked, resting against his hands.

"It's going great. I was thinking tomorrow, I could take you over to the building and show you how it's progressed- Anthony, you okay? why is your face like that?" Frank asked, noticing a strange expression on his brothers face.

"I uh, I need to take care of something." He sighed, picking up Kyle as he stood up. "Milo, babe. Where did you put Kyle's bag?"

"Guest room. I can change him, he doesn't freak out when I do it." Milo said, standing up.

"Wait. Uh, I can?" Gee chimed in, figuring that this could help a little in preparation for the twins. "I mean, I've never done it before."

"Oh Gee. Kyle, he's almost four, he doesn't wear diapers anymore. He only has a pull-up on because of the trip. Thank you, though." Anthony chuckled, grabbing a hold of Kyle's hand. She slowly sat back down, a blush rising to her cheek.

They left the room, Frank's dad followed them out, had to leave to pickup the food that was ordered.

"Even if they needed help, I couldn't do it. like, my gut is just, wrenching." She sighed, laying back on him. "I know we have babies coming, but I'll have more preparation by the time they come, I guess. Hey, are you okay?"

"I'm a fucking idiot. I literally described a sex position in front of my dad." His cheeks burned a crimson red. "What the hell was I thinking."

"You are. But you're my idiot. Remember?" She kissed his cheek, her hand holding his. "I'm a little disappointed we won't be having sex, though."

"Okay um. I was wondering, could we maybe bring my dad to your next doctors appointment? I-I I want him to see the twins, and that I'm not making it up."

"Babe, why would you lie about that?"

"Like Anthony has a kid, and I don't want him to think i'm trying to show off."

"Of course, just as long as like, it's not that kind of appointment where they have to look.." She mumbled, her finger pointed down, saying what she couldn't.

Before Frank got a chance to respond, Kyle came running back in, he giggled and screamed. "Papa no!"

Milo ran behind him, an ornery grin on his face. He caught him too, he picked him up and blew raspberries on his little belly, making the toddler laugh and squirm in his arms.

Frank just looked at the sight in awe. That was gonna be him and his kids eventually, and he was more than excited for that.

Anthony came running in a few seconds later, a little disappointed that Milo had already caught Kyle.

"Aww. Milo, you always catch Ky." He pouted, plopping on the couch. "Kyle, bud. Do you wanna clean up your toys?"

He shook his head, jumping on Anthony's lap.He laid on Anthony, his head rested on his shoulder. He was probably tired, he was on a 3 hour flight this morning. And they switched time zones. Anthony gave him a little free pass for that.

Nothing else happened that night that was exciting, to be frank. Frank's dad soon returned with their dinner, waking the boy up.

During dinner, Gee didn't eat much. She wanted to eat, like a lot, but she didn't want to like give away anything about her being pregnant . She was probably overthinking, but you can never be too careful.

Frank asked if she was okay, and she wanted to say she was feeling nauseous. But that's another hint at her being pregnant, and she wanted to avoid any and all hints.

Afterwards, when they all sat in the living room and talked, Franks dad asked him for a glass of water, and when Frank was in the kitchen, he tripped. And Franks dad asked if everything was okay,and Frank said "Your son is a fucking idiot, because he can't see a chair in front of him."

"Is Frank always like this? I knew he was a clumsy kid, I just didn't know if it carried on." Mr. Iero asked, looking at Gee.

"Yeah. He's fallen down our cellar stairs a bunch of times." She giggled, taking a sip from her Diet Coke.

And that didn't count their actual stairs, he sounds like a fucking bowling ball when he falls down the stairs. He'd always have bruises and scrapes on his back and behind from falling, unfortunately. But he should pay more attention where he's stepping.

Frank and Milo got drunk, Anthony and Gee passed on the liquor because one wanted to be responsible for his son, and the other couldn't drink.

Anthony, Milo and Kyle went to bed first. Then Franks dad left to go back to Lindas. Frank insisted on having him stay the night, but he said he had already dropped his clothes off.

He wanted to take him to his moms house, but his dad had already called one of his friends to pick him up.

Frank would be lying if he said that saying goodbye for his dad, just for that night, wasn't a moment that was upsetting for him. But he still had his wife, brother, brother in law and nephew to look upon.

Then after his dad left, he cleaned up the kitchen with the help of Gee, and then they went up to bed. But they figured on unpacking their luggage first, just to get a head start on the next day.

While Frank unpacked his bag, he pulled out a few pairs of Gees lingerie, and folded them.

"Uh.. why do you have my lingerie in your bag?" Gee asked.

"I didn't expect you to buy that maid outfit. And I wanted to get laid." He shrugged as he shoved them in her dresser. "Why don't you want anyone to know about the twins, like before Christmas?"

"So it's a surprise."

"Can we decorate gingerbread cookies like babies? And like give them out? And with a little card that has a picture of the babies."

"Cute idea. But I don't want it to be this big thing. What if, I made this comic about it. Like it shows a couple opening a door and there are two storm troopers in bassinets."

"Gee, that sounds cool. But you aren't pushing two storm troopers out of your body. It has to be somewhat realistic."

"We can do the cookie thing, only if i can make a few Wookiee and R2D2 ones."

"Totally."

"So I'm gonna go downstairs and get a snack, so uh, do you want anything?" She asked, getting up from the floor.

"Nah. I'm still full from dinner. Hey- Gee, we both have babies inside of us! Granted mines a food baby, but like it's cool to think about." He giggled, poking his stomach. "I wish I could carry our babies. So like I could bond with them better."

"If you wanna switch places, be my guest. But I hear a box of Oreos calling my name."

"Wait you didn't mention Oreos. Will you bring me up a couple?"

"Yeah." She nodded, then opened one of the two doors.

Mitch followed her down to the kitchen, because with all the commotion of Anthony, his family and Franks dad showing up, no one remembered to feed the poor thing.

So that was the first thing Gee did while she was down there. She gave him food and water so he didn't think he was being neglected. Then once Mitch was taken care of, Gee went over to the freezer, grabbed a thing of coffee ice cream, Oreos, graham crackers, and jelly beans from the cabinet.

She crushed the cookies and crackers, took a handful of jelly beans and put them in the carton of ice cream.

"Frank, I told you I'd bring up Oreos." She sighed, taking a bite out of her ice cream, seeing his head poke around the doorway. "But like, the twins will be the death of me. They're the size of blueberries, and already eat like fucking teenagers."

"Uh..what? Gee, I-I came down here to get Kyle water." The other twin said aid, walking into the kitchen with a red sippy cup.

Then well, once she noticed that he didn't have the tattoos Frank did, she knew it was Anthony.

Oh fuck. That wasn't supposed to happen.

"I-"

"Are you pregnant?" He asked, walking over to Gee. "I shouldn't ask that, but you literally mentioned twins. And Franks not a chick, even though he's a major pussy."

"Anthony. I don't.." She stuttered, setting the thing of ice cream down.

"You're pregnant with twins."

"I-It was an accident. Frank and I didn't think to use condoms -"

That probably wasn't something she should cry over. But her hormones are going crazy, she's tired and just the way he said it seemed like he was upset.

"Oh my god, Gee. Please don't cry." He quickly said, setting the cup down so he could hug her. "I'm happy, I'm not mad at you. Like, I don't have a reason to be. I'm gonna be an uncle!"

"I don't want you to think I lied about what happened -"

"I was there when it happened. How could I think you lied? But if it makes you more comfortable, I won't bring that up to dad or Milo. Neither of them know." He sighed, pulling away from Gee.

"Don't tell Milo about the twins, I-I want it to be a surprise."

"Under one condition."

"Yes?"

"Do you take those like, I think they're called pregnancy classes?" He asked, walking over to the fridge. "Obviously I couldn't go to them with Kyle, cause like, Milo and I adopted him. But we try our hardest to not make it seem like he was, and I want to be there for you and Frank."

"Yeah, I uh, I have another Monday. This Monday, actually."

"Can I come with you? Since Dad, and Frank are going to the office."

"Anthony. I would love that, but like. You remember the chick Frank dated before me?" Gee bit her lip, grabbing her ice cream.

"Jamia? Yeah, what about her?"

"She's uh, she's the one who's like the teacher."

"Oh shit, did she recognize you?"

"Mhm, she thought I was Frank's husband."

"Yikes."

"Yikes indeed. I'm going back upstairs. Just promise me you won't tell anyone?" She sighed, heading out of the kitchen.

"Of course. Goodnight, mommy."

"No. Don't fucking call me that. That's weird."

"Well what are you gonna do when the twins come?"

"I have a shit ton of months in front of me, I'll figure something out."

Anthony just rolled his eyes, put the lid on Kyle's cup and grabbed himself a snack.

He followed her up the steps, and as they drifted apart to get to their rooms. Anthony said something to her before they drifted apart, something she didn't like.

"Anthony, I will not hesitate to throw you out of my house. Fuck you." She said, flipping him off as she walked into her room, closing the door.

"What was that about?" Frank asked, walking out of the bathroom.

"I thought he was you. And I kinda like, gave it away that I'm pregnant with twins. But I made him promise to not tell anyone."

"How did you confuse us? You've known me for how long?" He giggled, grabbing her ice cream and looking into the carton. "Why - did you put jelly beans in here?"

"I'm pregnant?"

"I didn't expect pregnancy cravings to be like that, it's like the Elf spaghetti."

"Kind of, yeah." She nodded as she took back her ice cream. "Let's call it a night, it's late."

Frank was all on board with the idea, it was no more than a half hour before they were under their covers, holding one another.

The next morning came about, Gee didn't feel any sort of morning sickness and Frank didn't get drunk enough to get that bad of a hangover. Gee made everyone pancakes, made in the shape of dinosaurs for Kyle. After breakfast, Frank got dressed, told everyone goodbye and went to pick his dad up from his Mom's house, then they were going to go to the office.

Leaving Anthony, Milo, Gee and Kyle behind. Gee and Anthony cleaned up the kitchen, while Milo and Kyle went upstairs because Kyle got syrup in his hair.

"Oh fuck. That uh, that class is in like 2 hours and it's an hour drive. I have to get ready, I'll give you $5 if you can finish the rest of these up." She sighed, taking her hands out of the sink and drying them.

"Hey wait. I said I was coming with you." Anthony said, turning the sink off.

"I think it's better if I went alone. Jamia, she's insane. Like if she sees you, she'll know you aren't Frank and you'll get shit on."

"Unless..you paint Franks tattoos on my neck."

"He has tattoos on his hands, too. And you don't have the same rings like he does. This just has bad juju written on it. Plus like, Frank had to keep his hands on my stomach, and that'll be awkward for you, and myself."

"I'm coming with you. I'll finish these up while you do your, pregnant lady things then I'll get dressed."

"Uh..okay?" She said, walking over to the fridge and grabbing a thing of yogurt and a bunch of grapes, then to the cabinet to grab a box of lucky charms.

"Didn't you eat breakfast? Like I think you ate 4 pancakes, and an apple."

"I'm literally starving all the time. But, I never thought grapes and mango yogurt would taste so damn good." She sighed, tucking the box of cereal under her arm, so she could eat her yogurt.

Anthony just rolled his eyes, shooed her away and continued on with the dishes. When she left, he felt a little bad for the comment he made, but he's never been around a pregnant lady before so he wasn't sure how they acted.

It was an innocent comment. But she take everything to heart as her body changed right and left, she was even insecure before the pregnancy took hold. She tried her best to distract herself from her insecurity by, playing Bowie and Queen.

Since it was like the transition between fall and winter, it was quite cold outside. So she dressed in a brown flannel and jeans. While she was in her room, she grabbed one of Franks turtleneck sweaters from the closet. He never really wore it, but it'll help hide Anthony's tattoos.

As she came walking out of her room with the turtleneck, Milo came walking out of the guest room. He asked Gee what the sweater was for, and she said that she and Anthony were going out for a while. And that he and Kyle were free to join.

God seemed to be on her side that day, because Milo said he was taking Kyle out to the park, then they can all get together somewhere. It sucked that they were all drifting apart, but it would only be for a few hours.

After Anthony kissed Milo, and Kyle goodbye, he and Gee left. Gee drove because he didn't know where it was.He was pretty quiet on the way there, he just stayed on his phone and texted Milo. Though, a while, he decided to speak up.

"How did you start taking classes from your husbands ex?"

"Well. I had to go to the store, then while I was putting groceries in my car, I felt like everything around me was spinning. And a lady came up, asked if I was okay, figured I was pregnant and gave me this address. No name, no information whatsoever."

"Damn. What did she like, say when she saw you?"

"She said 'nice seeing you, Iero' to Frank. Then turned to me and thought we were in a gay relationship."

"But like, if she tried saying anything like that to you, I'll set her straight." He threatened jokingly, cracking his knuckles. "Wait, do you guys like, talk about vaginas?"

"I've only been there once, I don't know. But do you wanna get frozen yogurt after?"

"It's not even 11:30, and winter. But don't tell Kyle. He cried for 2 hours when Milo came back with a smoothie."

"Speaking of Kyle, like. How old was he when you adopted him?" She asked, her hand reached down to grab a pack of root beer gum.

"4 months. His parents were poor, they couldn't afford to raise him and they wanted a better life for him. So Milo and I adopted him." Anthony sighed, taking a piece of gum.

"After Frank and I, like tell everyone. Could you maybe give us a few pointers?"

"Yeah. Only if you pay for my frozen yogurt."

Gee just rolled her eyes and continued driving. She stopped for coffee before anything, because she has to deal with Jamia for an hour and could use all the caffeine she can get.

A short half hour later, they arrived at the stupid studio. Gee had to give Anthony a little pep talk on how to pass as Frank. They may be twins, but their personalities are so different.

Anyway. The lady at the front desk kinda recognized them, but Anthony wasn't sure he should say, so he just stood there awkwardly.

When they got into the room, it was only Jamia. So like, that was incredibly uncomfortable.

"You're early." Jamia said as she sat down the mats.

"My uh, my brother in law and his family are visiting. And, Frank and I just got back from a little trip, In a completely different time zone, so I'm all thrown off. Sorry." Gee apologized, hand sneaking down to hold Anthony's.

They would both be lying if they said it didn't make them uncomfortable. Like, one was gay and both were married. So it was just a perfect storm of awkwardness.

"Oh? Where did you guys go?" She asked, looking over at them.

"Just, somewhere."

Jamia looked at her strangely, but then turned away. Then when everyone came in, Jamia had them do the normal position. Where the Dads had his hands on the moms belly. It was a little uncomfortable for them.

But then, Jamia just had to up the ante. She went on to talk about one of the most common symptoms of pregnancy.

"I'm gonna start today's class off by talking about symptoms. Typically in pregnancy, the moms breasts are usually very sore." She explained, sitting on a yoga ball in the middle of the circle. "So dads, place your hands on the mother's chest and move them around gently."

"You know - mine don't hurt, so." Gee quickly said, realizing how uncomfortable that'll be for not only her, but Anthony too.

"Don't be silly, you're pregnant, Frank, go ahead."

"Gee, I-I don't know if I can." Anthony whispered, pulling his shaky hands away.

"You're not going to. Jamia, he's not doing it. I'm okay, really."

"Hmm. I guess I can't force you, so just stay how you are." She sighed, turning to another couple. 

The whole boob touching eventually stopped, but it didn't end there. Jamia went on to say they'd be watching a video of childbirth.

There were mothers who were pretty far along in the game, so they might as well get an idea of what they'd be experiencing in a few months.

Anthony didn't want to see that part, hell no. So he quickly made an excuse, like he felt very nauseous and had to step out. He told Gee to text him when it was over, because he still wanted to be there for the rest of it, just not a kid coming out of a woman's body.

Frank was texting her too, basically saying that his dad liked how the office was turning out. And that he got to look at the paperwork of all the guitars, picks and things like that they've sold.

His dad was very impressed with what they've done, and Frank thought the best part about it, was that he got to show his dad his office.

But what he failed to mention, was that he told his dad what happened with Bert. Though that'll come up eventually.

Gee tried keeping her focus on her phone, but Jamia busted her.

"Miss. Way, you're not allowed on your phone." She whispered, she walked over and grabbed her phone. You can have it back before you leave."

"It's Mrs.Iero." Gee corrected her, taking her phone back. "And my phone."

"Just keep it silent, will you?" She sighed, walking away from Gee.

She wanted so badly to call her a bitch, or maybe trip her. Not because of that, but she treated Frank like shit, and Frank didn't deserve that.

But she didn't, of course. Because one, she was too shy and people were around. Maybe if they were alone, she'd tell her off.

While she watched the video of this lady giving birth, and heard how much pain she was in, she really doubted herself being able to give birth to two babies.

Throughout the program, were notes about the birth process. Like it was possible for women to have an orgasm during childbirth, or they could throw up.

But the video ended with the baby swaddled in a hospital blanket, sleeping soundly. The baby looked so much cuter than when it was emerging from a woman's body.

"Now that the video is done. Any questions?" Jamia asked, turning the television off.

"Uh. Is that like, the only option of having the baby?" Another lady asked, sounding genuinely concerned.

"No. If you don't want to do it like that, you could also have a c-section."

"What is that, exactly?" Gee chimed in, looking over at the lady and then Jamia.

"It's where a doctor cuts your baby out of your uterus. Since you're carrying twins, it's probably the safest thing to ensure their safety."

"So knives, cutting into my body to retrieve two babies.." she mumbled, taking a moment to let that soak in. Knives are worse than needles, there's no way she can do that. Just the thought of that, made her gag and lose all color.

"Miss. way, are you alright?" Jamia asked, diverting her attention to Gee.

"I just, I need water." She said, standing up and walking towards the door.

"You can get a drink afterwards. There's still a half hour left."

"Jamia- please."

"It's Miss.Nestor, and return to your seat. You should've brought something with you." Jamia said in a more rough tone, one that made Gees blood boil.

You know, Gees had enough. Like, she had to put up with Jamia for years. Starting from the time she got a bloody nose from her, then before she and Frank got married, that Jamia told him that she was getting involved with these drugs and shit. And finally, now.

She wanted to say something to her, but she didn't want to cause a big scene infront of everyone else.

"I'm the pregnant one! Fuck you." She mumbled, flipping her off as she walked out of the room, the door slamming behind her.

"I'm just gonna go check on her. Just stay in here." Jamia huffed, evening out her skirt as she walked out of the room.

She walked down the hall and found Gee sitting against the wall, with Anthony holding a cold bottle of water to her forehead.

"Are you okay?" He asked, brushing a piece of her hair back. "Should I call Frank?"

"Why would you need to call Frank, if you apparently are him?" Jamia scoffed, crossing her arms. "Anthony."

"Hi." He stuttered, actually a little scared.

"How are you gonna handle two babies if you can't stomach a c-section?" She snapped, causing Gee to jump a little.

"You know what." Gee sniffled, standing up infront of Jamia. "All you've done is treat me like I fucking messed your life up. If you cared about Frank, you would be happy that he's happy."

"Oh, it's not about him. He deserves the world. And you, you don't deserve a fifth of who he is. Now get back in there and act like you're not married to a millionaire and have this perfect life, got it?"

She should not bring Franks grandfather into this, especially money. She's gone too far and Gee has to say something.

"Don't you dare bring my husband's family into this. He and I have been through our own situations, and you don't need to bring them up. We have anything but a perfect life."

"Everyone dies, Miss. Way. It's not that big of a deal. Face it, you've had it easy with Frank, you married him for his-"

"I had a miscarriage! And then I was told I couldn't have kids because I have fucked hormones, I didn't even know I was pregnant!" She snapped, balling her hands into fists. "Frank and I almost got divorced. Don't fucking tell me that we've had it easy. And when I found out I was pregnant again, I was so sure that they would die too, it wasn't a good time for either of us. Frank didn't deserve any of that, he's a fucking superhero for sticking through all of that."

"She's not lying. I was there when it happened." Anthony chimed in, standing next to Gee.

Jamia didn't know what to say, she was just frozen in place. She didn't know that something like that happened, especially to someone like Frank. She felt bad for Frank, but no so much for Gee.

"Then tell Frank I'm sorry."

Anthony could tell Gee was about to flip, especially after Jamia only felt sorry for Frank. She wanted to, she really did. But instead of that, she said something else. She looked her dead in the eyes, and Jamia could swear that her gaze pierced her soul.

"I punched you once, and I'm not afraid to do it again."

Jamia didn't get a chance to say anything, before being shoved aside as Gee and Anthony walked out of the building.

She didn't have time to run after them and apologize, she had a class to teach, or explain what the hell that was about because they were standing outside of the room.

And judging by their look, they definitely heard everything. About the miscarriage, the fact Jamia only felt sorry for Frank, and that Gee basically threatened her.

Maybe next time, she'll be more careful on which lady she picked on.


	11. What Lies

spoiler : she's not actually pregnant with twins

\--

"You did what exactly?" Frank said, walking out of the bathroom.

"Jamia - she was pushing me and I kinda snapped on her." Gee sighed, pacing back and fourth.

It was now the next day, and Gee finally told Frank what had happened. She decided last night wasn't the best idea, because Frank was so happy that he could show his dad around his office.

Plus they went out to dinner that night with Anthony, Milo , his parents and Kyle. So there really wasn't a good time to tell him.

They had just eaten dinner and watched a few movies, and they decided to come up to their room and relax for a little bit.

"What did she say?"

"Basically, that you and I have it easy. And I don't deserve even a fifth of you. She brought up your grandfather, and his money. Then I kinda snapped on her. I stupidly told her about the miscarriage, so that's something she can hold against me." She groaned, falling back on the bed. 

"How is she gonna hold that against you?" He asked, laying next to her and propping his head on his hand, the other resting on her belly. "Hey. Your bump has gotten bigger."

"Huh. It did. But Jamia, she just has it out for me."

"I mean, I dumped her for you. And she thinks that if I would've stuck with her, her life would be like this. But, you wanna know something?"

"What?"

"Jamia, she would've never stuck with me after that breakdown I had when my grandfather passed. And most importantly, she's not as beautiful or amazing like you. And like, I'd totally put my dick in you..." Giggling as he lifted her shirt up, kissing down her stomach. "She can like, use a cheap ass dildo and fantasize about she's missing out on."

"Your dick is pretty nice."

"I know." He said, his hands working at her pajama pants. "And It's been like two days since either of us had an orgasm, so."

"Why are you always so like, horny?"

"Cause I have you as a wife."

"But they're still awake downstairs, can you at least wait until Kyle goes to bed?"

"He's downstairs. Milo and Anthony have him, plus they can't hear us."

"After he goes to bed, I promise."

"Fine." He rolled his eyes, crawling back onto the bed. "Are you still gonna go to those classes?"

"I don't know if I have a choice. Like, all I know is that my boobs hurt and babies can be cut out of bodies."

"Wait what? I thought the only way you could have babies, is like, the natural way."

"Yeah. Like the doctor cuts into your body to retrieve the babies. Apparently it's safer for the babies.

"That's terrifying. But as long as they're safe, i guess it's not as creepy. Hey, do you wanna sneak out and get food?"

"Where are we gonna go?"

"I don't know. But I wanna kill time until Kyle goes to sleep." He said, getting up off the bed and grabbing a red hoodie. "Or..instead of just getting food, we can fool around in the car."

"...I'll get my coat." She quickly said, getting off of the bed.

"This is why I love you. You support all my crazy ideas. Like, sneaking off into my car so we can have sex."

"Well, you mentioned food. So I could go for a snack."

"And dick." He added, grabbing a few 20's from his wallet and shoving them in his hoodie.

"Frank!"

"It's true!"

"You're...not wrong." She rolled her eyes, slipping a pair of moccasins on.

Frank just giggled, put a matching pair of shoes on and then they walked out of the room. But Gee went back into the room, just because she had to use the bathroom.

Then afterwards, she and Frank snuck downstairs. But they failed because Anthony caught them. Apparently, he went to get another coke when he saw them sneaking towards the front door.

He knew what they were doing, because he's been in that situation, for god sakes he has a 3 year old. So he just rolled his eyes and walked away.

Frank insisted on driving, and Gee couldn't exactly tell him otherwise because it was his car.

It started snowing as they drove down the street, it was pretty. But it also meant that fall was over, and that sucked. They stopped at a local 7-11 to pick up a few necessities.

"Yeah. I need to get condoms. I don't even think we have any, well obviously we don't. You're pregnant." He said, putting the car in park. "Stay in here, okay? I'll just be a minute."

"Alright." She sighed, resting her head against the seat, one hand reaching over to grip franks butt as he got out of the car.

He swatted her hand away, but still winked at her as he closed the door.

He left his phone in the car, because he didn't exactly need a reason to bring it with him. Almost as soon as he walked into the store, his phone went off. Gee thought it was from Anthony or Milo, so she grabbed his phone and unlocked it.

It was a message from this dude named Evan. She didn't know who he was, so it was really weird to see a message like "everything's all squared away, see you New Years. And pack a few bags, we'll be gone for two or three weeks."   
Gee knew he wasn't cheating on her, because he never would even think about doing that, she just wasn't sure what he had going on.

It didn't feel like he was up to something bad, necessarily. It just felt like something..

"So I got this kind of condom that's like, soaked in heating lube. So apparently it's supposed to feel better for both of us." He said as he sat in the car. He dug through the bag to grab the box of condoms, he placed them in one of the cup holders for easier access I guess.

"Could we maybe just, go back home?" She mumbled, one hand fiddling with her rings.

"Why? Do you feel okay?" He asked, a little disappointed, looking away from the road real quick to look at Gee. "Oh no..you're not uncomfortable because I bought these condoms, right? I can go back In and get regular ones."

"No. It's not that. There's just something on my mind that I need to sleep off."

"Maybe sex will make you forget. Like how you forgot I ate your last bagel when you told me not to."

"Wait what? Frank, that was my last everything bagel. And the store was out of them last time I went."

"See? You'll forget how upset you are. Like I'll do whatever you want. I'll moan like a whore, beg-"

"You're hard, aren't you?" She sighed, resting her hand on his thigh, feeling him jerk slightly.

"You brought up boobs! Of course I'm gonna get hard."

"Who the said boobs? I said bagels."

"I was thinking of boobs. Can we just mess around for a while? Then you can be sad."

"But, you have to tell me something first before you get to see mine."

"Anything." He agreed, placing his hand on top of hers.

"Who's Evan?"

"He's Jamia's brother. He's helping me plan out a big thing on New Years. And before you assume, no I'm not cheating with him."

"What's the thing?"

"It's a New Year's Eve party. Think back to like, when we first met and then broke up." He smirked, a hint of excitement in his voice.

"Why would I wanna do that?"

"No more questions, okay? Because I want this to be a really amazing thing."

"Just promise me that you and Jamia aren't secretly dating. Because she was all over you when we broke up."

"Gee don't say her name. I don't want to lose my boner." He groaned, grimacing at her name.

"Where are we even going to do this?" She asked, putting her hood on.

"Somewhere that's private, like a closed park or something. Basically every park is closed now, it's 11:30."

"I'm gonna close my eyes for a while, I promise we'll do this. I don't wanna be half asleep while I'm on-top of you."

"Okay."

Frank turned the music down a little, but then reached into the bag and pulled out a bottle of tequila. It's illegal to drink and drive, but he was sipping on it. He wasn't chugging it.

Eventually they arrived at this park, and it was closed. They might get in trouble for being there after hours, but it's dark out.

"Gee.." He whispered, pushing his seat back. "We're here."

"Oh, hey." She yawned, unbuckling her seat belt and rubbing her eyes. "I didn't mean to like, fall asleep."

"It's okay. Now get over here, I'm horny." He giggled, grabbing her hands so it would be easier for her to climb into his lap.

"What were you thinking about?"

"Boobs."

"Yeah?" She smirked, gasping softly as she felt Franks hands on her chest. "Frank - wait."

"Are you okay? Did I hurt you?"

"No. I just, felt butterflies. Like, I'm not nervous or anything. What could it be?"

"Maybe your boobs like my hands."

"Frank- no. I'm looking it up." She rolled her eyes, reaching over to find her phone. "Wait does that kill the mood?"

"Yea a little. It's just butterflies, babe. I get them too, especially when I look at you."

"Aww, that's so-"

"And your boobs, take your shirt off." He said, grabbing her phone and setting it in a cup holder.

"It's cold."

"My hands will warm them up." He insisted, pulling her hoodie down her arms, leaving her in a Queen shirt.

I mean, Franks been a little stressed lately, for whatever reason. And they both deserved a little release, especially after dealing with Jamia. So she just nodded and pulled her shirt down, allowing her breasts to come out of the top.

Since it was nighttime, she wasn't wearing a bra, and Frank sure as hell didn't complain.

Instead, he licked his lips and leaned forward to kiss her jaw, neck, collarbones and eventually her breasts and nipples, knowing all the things she liked.

She hummed softly as she rested her hands on his shoulders, leaning down to his his forehead gently.

He pulled his hands away from her hips, only to snake them down and pull his batman pajama pants down a little.

"No underwear?" She raised an eyebrow as she looked down, biting her lip. "I swear we just did laundry-"

"Shut up." He blushed, reaching for the box of condoms. "Take your pants off, please."

She couldn't do it while sitting on his lap, so she quickly moved over to her seat, kicked her shoes off and took her pants off.

Frank had lifted himself up and shoved his pants down his thighs, then he put the foil packet between his lips, and went to grab Gee's hands to bring her over.

But instead, she shooed his hands away and moved one hand down to his crotch, gripping his erection and jacking him off at a slow pace.

She kissed his neck and nibbled at his tattoos, smirking as she heard him whimper softly as she jacked him off.

"That's it baby. Go faster." He purred, spitting the wrapper out, closing his eyes and reaching a hand up to cup one of her breasts. "Fuck."

Her thumb swirled around the tip, swiping through the slit and smearing precum around. Her hand occasionally moving down to grab and massage his balls.

Frank kept his head against the seat as Gee continued to jerk him off. He let out small whimpers and his breath became heavy.

Gee debated on leaning down and sucking him off, but this was about sex, and he was already getting close, judging by how his body reacted.

So, she took her hand away. Frank was about to complain, but then she moved back over so she could sit on his thighs.

"We've gotta be quiet, okay?" She whispered, leaning down to kiss his neck as he tore the condom wrapper open.

"Just come here." He rolled his eyes, looping his fingers around the front of her underwear, moving them aside.

But before he did anything, he reached over to grab the bottle of tequila and took a long drink. Groaning and licking his lips at the strong flavor.

He sat the bottle back down and placed one hand on Gees hip, the other taking the condom out of the wrapper.

As he rolled the condom down his dick, he felt this tingly and warm sensation. He gasped loudly, threw his head back as his hips shuttered and his hands clenched. "Holy shit."

Gee assumed it was because of the heating lube, or the alcohol mixed with it. So she decided on reaching down, jacking him off a few times before positioning him between her legs.

She gripped onto his shoulders as she slowly sunk down, whimpering both at his size and the heat from the lube.

"Shit." Frank groaned, digging his blunt nails into her hip as the other held onto the tequila bottle.

She whined as she rest on his thighs, bottoming out. Feeling the warmth of the lube tingle inside of her. The tip of Franks stiff cock brushed up against her spot.

After a few brief, awkward moments of adjustment, she lifted herself up and slammed back down, causing herself and Frank to moan.

"God damn, baby." He groaned, moving a hand down to thumb at her clit. "So good."

"Oh fuck." She whined, bouncing on his lap at a quickening pace. She closed her eyes as she rode him, trying to focus on nothing but pleasure.

That wasn't hard, honestly. They were in their own private setting, cats weren't meowing, phones weren't ringing and no one was knocking at the door.

They were in pure bliss, needless to say it was the strongest, most satisfying pleasure they've felt in quite some time.

Though as things got hotter, sweatier and faster, Frank started to enjoy it too much. He got really loud with his moans and various sex noises, like his voice cracked at one point.

Gee found it very arousing and absolutely hot, but they were still not in their own house. So if someone would walk past, they'd hear Frank.

"Frank- you need to be more quiet." She panted, brushing her hair back.

"Sorry, it feels too good- Fuck!" He cried out, his hips thrusting up. "Oh fuck- Gee. Mmm."

"Shh." She hushed, shooting him a warning look as she moved a hand down to his chest, feeling his heart race. She slipped her hand under his shirt, up to his chest so she could tweak his nipple softly.

She soon realized that was a bad idea because he whimpered at the contact, then moaned.

It was more than obvious that Frank wouldn't shut the hell up, so Gee had to do something that they never did, but she knew it would have a positive outcome. He was always really loud in bed, so public or car sex with him is super risky.

She took her hand from under his shirt, slowly trailed her hand up until she got to his neck. She bit her lip before tightening her hand, his noises becoming quiet and his eyes darkened.

"H-Holy shit." He choked out, grabbing onto Gees wrist.

"You like that?" She smirked, tightening her grip and moving her hips faster."Wait you're a masochist, 'course you would."

Frank just nodded quickly, moved one hand that was on her clit, down to her ass and squeezed harshly.

When he felt his head spin and his body trembled, he lifted a hand up and swung it back down harshly, making Gee moan loudly and pull off of him.

"What the- why did that feel good?" She gasped, letting go of his throat.

"Fucking - finish me off, please." He whined, grabbing her hip and pulling her back down. And of course, she nodded, grabbed his shoulder and sunk back down, wasting no time in picking her pace back up. Firstly, she didn't know that he liked being choked, or that she liked being hit.

"Choke me. I-It'll get me off, please." He begged, grabbing her hand and bringing it up to his neck. She couldn't deny him either, no. So she just did as he wanted and tightened her grip around his neck.

It took no more than a minute before he came, gripping onto Gees wrist tightly as his hips shuttered and he spilled into the condom. His face scrunched up as he let out a whine,

Gee wasn't far behind, no. She released her grip on Franks neck and used that hand to bring herself to the edge. As she came, her face contorted in pure pleasure and her thighs trembled.

"Frank- fuck, oh fuck." She cried, placing both of her hands on Franks chest as she got through her orgasm. Sweat dripped off of her nose and matted her hair to her forehead, making the sight non the less better.

Frank was basking in the sight of her orgasming, knowing that if he didn't just have one himself, he'd be hard again and a round 2 would ensue.

Her body jerked as the over sensitivity replaced the pleasure, making her pull off of Franks softening dick. Leaving them both breathing heavily and soaked in sweat.

She rested her forehead on his, both of their eyes closed as they each fraught to catch their breath and come back to the real world.

Then once everything died down, she kissed his lips as she fixed her shirt. Then she moved back to her seat and put her pants back on.

"We're definitely gonna need a bigger thing of heating lube." He said, tying the condom and throwing it into a plastic bag. His voice sounding a little breathless and worn.

"I didn't know you liked being choked."

"And I didn't know you liked choking me." He giggled, pulling his pants back up and grabbing the bottle of tequila. "Hey, like. I don't want this night to be over. Do you wanna sit on the car and look at the stars for a while?"

What a gentleman. He has sex with you and asks if you want to look at the stars for a while.

Gee wanted to, but it was getting late. And they were supposed to be putting the Christmas tree up- oh what the hell, they have others to help with the tree.

Before she knew it, they were sitting on the hood of his car, looking up at the stars and talking about what shapes they saw.

"I'm telling you, that's a fucking apple." Frank insisted, pointing at a cluster of stars.

"No. It's an alien. Maybe it is an alien, and there's a UFO circling around Jersey." She suggested, laying back and using her arms as a makeshift pillow. "Babe, you alright?"

"I know we have two babies on the way. But where is my life going? I'm just this stupid business man, stuck doing this job I don't like." He sighed, taking a swig of his tequila. "Like someone's taking over the company, so I won't have much work. And I don't wanna be a stay at home dad, because that's what my dad did and he left us. I'm insignificant, that's what I am."

"Oh fuck, are you okay? Is this your midlife crisis?" She asked, sitting up and looking at Frank. "I just want you to know that whatever you want, I'll have your back, but you're scaring the shit out of me."

The last part was the truth, like she really wanted to cry and her hands were trembling. This was all out of the blue, and she didn't know if he was suicidal or something, but she wanted him to make him feel like she would be there for him.

"Yeah, it's cool. I'll be okay. Just, can you get me a coke from the car?"

"Uh, yeah. Of course." She nodded, wiping her cheek as she got off of the car.

Frank moved so he was sitting on the ground, rather than on top of his car because that wasn't comfortable, drunk or not.

The second Gee got into the car, she closed the car door and instantly started crying. She was more than concerned for Frank, sure he's been depressed before, but he's never said anything like this. It's not like he was suicidal, he just was lost.

She kept her hand over her mouth so Frank didn't hear her, because then he'd feel awful for making her feel that way. It couldn't have been the alcohol talking, because he didn't drink a whole lot, maybe a fourth of the bottle.

"Gee?" She heard Frank ask, opening the passenger door.

"Y-Yeah?" Sniffling as she wiped her eyes, reaching into the bag to grab a coke. "I'm sorry - I just got distracted."

"Gee, I know I scared the shit out of you. But you need to know that I'm alright." He sighed, climbing onto the passenger seat and closing the door. "Let's just go home, and we can talk about this."

"Okay. That'll be good."

Nothing much happened as they drove back home. But when Frank placed his hand on her thigh, she tried her hardest to hold back tears.

She kept telling herself everything would be fine, and that Frank was gonna be just fine. But he sounded so serious.

By the time they got home, Gee had a pounding headache from all of the thinking and crying, so the first thing she did was make a cup of tea.

Frank stayed in the kitchen with her, eating something to help sober up a little. It was dead silent in the kitchen, neither of them had the guts to bring that whole thing up. Though, Gee eventually said something.

"Frank, we have two babies on the way. How can you say your life is going nowhere?" She said, looking up from her cup. "Especially after the miscarriage and being told we couldn't have kids. Isn't this what you wanted?"

"Because I have done nothing since my grandfather died. I would stay in the office building for hours, doing something I hate. Gee, I want my kids to see me as this awesome dad, not one who has a boring job of selling vintage music equipment."

"Baby I know, but I don't know how to help you."

"When I was with my dad, I quit my job." He announced, sitting up from the table and walking over to the fridge. "We have enough money, and the company is in good hands."

"How the hell are we gonna raise twins? And you said you weren't gonna be a stay at home dad. Frank, we need income. And I just can't keep up with paintings especially now that I'm pregnant."

"I've found something where I can be home, and away. It's an amazing job for my kids to say I have. I know my grandfather wanted me to keep the company going, but I'm just not happy there. I could care less about how much we sell, or who the hell works there."

"Oh Frank.." She sighed, walking over and grabbing his hands. "I told you I would support you no matter what, you said we should move so we don't spoil our children. How are we gonna do that?"

"Gee, we still have a lot of money left. It'll be okay. Just trust me on this."

"But if we wait, it may be too late."

"Babe, New Years is only a few weeks away-"

"Frank, I don't know how a party will fix this. I support you in everything you do, but -"

"Do you trust me?" He cut her off.

"Frank that's not-"

"Gee, I said, do you trust me?" He repeated, shooting her a stern look. "I know I'm gonna do for this family, I just need your trust."

"Yes, of course. But I need you to tell me that our kids, will be taken care of in the long run. We can't survive off of a few grand for 18 years." She cried, tears slipping down her cheeks.

"You don't need to get a job. We aren't going bankrupt, our kids will be fine." He sighed, wiping her tears away and kissing her nose. "C'mon, lets go to bed."

"I love you to death, but your thoughts scare the absolute shit out of me." She sniffled, grabbing his hand as they walked together. Frank just giggled and kissed her cheek, and all she could do was roll her eyes and walk.

When they got upstairs, they brushed their teeth and went to bed. Neither of them had anything to say, other than goodnight / I love you.

Though, around 3 A.M. Gee had to get up because one, she had to pee and two, the babies were demanding food. As she went downstairs to the kitchen, she heard Frank in his office talking to someone.

She heard him say that he needed to meet with then as soon as possible, saying that he had more ideas for them, and that he had to still pack.

He hung up quickly after that, then he ran over to the front door and opened it, letting a woman in. They greeted eachother then went into Franks office, locking the door.

Gee was more than curious about what Frank was up to, so she grabbed the box of animal crackers and slowly crept towards his office.

"Cara, are you sure all of the shirts will be done in time?" He said, trying to keep his voice low.

"I don't know, but I'm trying my best to get them made in such a short time."

"There are only a few weeks left and I'm losing my fucking mind. I came so close to telling Gee last night, but I don't want her to find out."

"Who said you had to? It's like a surprise party, the guest of honor isn't supposed to know about it. Especially the prettiest girl." Cara winked, nudging Frank.

What? A New Years Party? Why would she be the guest of honor? And why the hell would they need shirts. It was far too early for a baby shower, like they didn't even know if the twins were girls, boys, or one of each.

She didn't bother in listening anymore, because they just got real quiet and it probably wasn't important.

So, she just sighed and went up to her room with her animal crackers. She didn't go to bed right away, she read a few pages out of the pregnancy book as she ate.

At that point, she figured she'd read enough for the night and should go to bed. Though right as she turned the light off, Frank came walking into their room.

He walked over and turned his lamp on, then pulled this notebook out and began writing stuff down. He hummed as he did so, probably some Misfits song or something, but she was too tired to pay attention to him or what song he was humming.

Frank wasn't awake for too much longer that night, he was awake for maybe an hour and a half more before he decided to head to bed. He flicked the light off, rolled over and fitted his hand over Gee's belly, humming softly.

Gee fell asleep before him, obviously, so she didn't feel that. It was a quiet night in the Iero household, nothing disturbed them , so it was very calm. Though it got really cold, so Frank basically held onto Gee for dear life trying to stay warm.

Mitch decided to sleep on Gee's chest in order to stay warm, and that made it a little hard for her to breathe. But the things you do for the ones you love.

The morning was the dark, raining type. But it wasn't anything to complain about,

She woke up without Frank. Instead, a note on his pillow.

It said that he was going out to breakfast with a few friends of his, then they'd be going over to Matts house to get a few things done, but he'd be home in time for dinner. He ended it with "Love all three of you. XoDad / XoFrnk", even though he wasn't technically a dad yet. But i mean, he created babies, so he's partially a dad.

Before Gee got a chance to sit up, Mitch came running onto the bed and onto her lap, instantly laying down and rubbing her legs, purring. Then Anthony came walking in with two cups of coffee.

"Anthony, whatever you're complaining about - Frank hides them all over the house."

"No? What are you talking about?" He said, opening one of her doors. "I figured you were awake, so I brought coffee. But, can we talk?"

"Yeah, whats up?" She asked, reaching for her coffee as Anthony sat at the edge of the bed.

"I don't want you to like, get mad at me for saying this."

"You lied to me for months about having a twin brother, I don't think anything will surprise me."

"Are you and Frank getting a divorce? Like, I came down last night to get Kyle a drink and I heard you two fighting, like about money and his midlife crisis. If you need money, I'm sure we can write a check-"

"We're not getting divorced. He's just, panicking because of the babies and he wants them to have a cool dad." She sighed, petting Mitch.

"Then why were you crying? Wait is that appropriate to ask? since you're pregnant and women are super sensitive."

"Well, when your husband says he quit his job, and is relying on some New Years party for money, it scares the shit out of you."

"What party- Oh! That party. Man, he's so excited about that, I'm actually jealous that he gets to do that."

"You know something."

"Fuck. Uh, did I say party? I meant- wait, I think I hear Kyle." Anthony quickly corrected himself, getting off of the bed and running towards the door. But he kinda tripped on a bag that Frank forgot to unpack.

"Anthony, I will tell Milo that you suggested a three way between Frank and I. Tell me what he's up to, I need to know." She threatened, getting off of the bed and going after Anthony, closing the door and leaning against both, preventing him from leaving.

"I wish I could, but he told me that no matter what, you're not allowed to know. And I was drunk off my ass."

"I'm his wife, who's pregnant with his kids even though I told him I didn't want kids after the other baby, he kinda owes me."

"He's uh, he's kind of opening an Italian Restaurant."

"What? Why?"

"I'm kidding. Gee, if you tell Milo that I did that, granted I was drunk off my ass, I'll tell your kids in great detail, how gay sex works."

"What? I don't even know how that happens."

"Well you see, when two gay men have very strong feelings for eachother-"

"No!" She squeaked, covering his mouth with her hand. "I don't have a dick, why would I need to know that?"

"Frank's such a twink, I'm surprised you haven't banged him with a fake one." He giggled, pulling away from Gee. "But remember, lube is your friend."

"Okay enough talking." She sighed, grabbing her coffee and opening the bedroom door. "Hey, do you, Milo and Kyle want to help me set the Christmas tree up? Frank doesn't really care for Christmas decorations."

"Yeah, Kyle should be waking up soon, he'll be so excited to wake up to that."

"I'll get the shit from the attic because if you're scared of spiders like Frank, you'll have a heart attack. There was a baby spider on his leg and I swear he's never screamed so loud."

"I threw a fake one on him when we were younger, and he literally pissed himself."

Anthony grabbed a step ladder from the laundry room so it would be easier to reach the attic door. When he opened it, a shit ton of dust and cobwebs fell out and onto the floor. Creating a pile of filth is on the hardwood floors.

"I wonder how many spiders are in there." Anthony said, looking up.

"Enough to put Frank in a grave. Could you clean this shit up while I get boxes?" She asked climbing up the ladder.

"I'm saving a few spiders to scare Frank, though."

"You're washing his piss-stained jeans then." She rolled her eyes, pulling the light-chain so she could actually see.

All of their Christmas boxes had "Xmas shit" on them, so they were relativity easy to find. Though, as she moved one of the boxes, she found one that said "NY apartment". So it was stuff from their old place.

Curious to know what was in the box, she sat on the attic floor and opened the box. It was filled with old pictures, notes and memorabilia from the first stages of their relationship. Like their movie tickets from their first date, tickets from concerts they've gone to, and even an old laptop.

They probably had old pictures on it or something, or just got misplaced during the move. She didn't exactly have time to look through it, but it was definitely on her to-do list.

Frank did say he wanted to make a scrapbook, and these pictures could help.

Anyway. Anthony and Milo came over to help take down boxes and unpack them.

Gee set up the tree as the boys unpacked decorations. Kyle had woken up as they were taking things down from the attic, so Anthony got him something for breakfast.

After the tree was stacked and wrapped in lights, Anthony came over and tapped Gee on the shoulder.

"Gee look, I have jingle balls." He said, holding two sparkly, blue Christmas ornaments between his legs. "They're sparkly!"

"You're so weird." She giggled, rolling her eyes as she continued hanging decorations.

Right as she turned around, she heard a smash. Instantly she turned her heard around and saw Mitch, running away from Anthony. She looked down at the broken glass, then up at Anthony with a puzzled look.

"He just came around and started batting at the ornaments. Let's hope to god he's never in the room while you and Frank are doing it."

"Yeah..how awkward, that would totally kill the mood." She mumbled, a blush rising to her cheeks.

Eventually Milo and Kyle came back into the living room, where Gee put Kyle in charge of hanging decorations at the bottom of the tree.

As they were putting the finishing touches on the decorations in the living room, Frank called Gee. Letting her know that he'll be coming home a little later than planned, so they should just eat without him and he'd eat over at Matts.

While she was on the phone with him, she could hear random strings being played on the guitar. Maybe he was listening to music or it was on TV, like she knew Matt and he wasn't a guitar guy, he liked drums. But she just brushed it off and continued with everything.

She had Anthony and Milo help her set up Christmas lights in her room, the guest rooms and outside. While they finished setting things up in her room, well Anthony decorated the bedroom while MIlo and Gee worked on the den.

While he was supposed to be hanging lights and lighting Christmas candles, he got distracted by the baby book Jamia gave her.

"Anthony, are you okay?" Milo asked, hearing a few gags come from the other room.

"I just thought of a vagina."

"Spooky, the thing that birthed you."

"No. C-Section, thats the only safe way to deliver triplets."

"But you and Frank are twins?"

"Actually, my mom was pregnant with triplets. But the third baby died during the whole thing." Anthony explained, quickly hiding the book so Milo didn't see. "His name was Thomas."

He must've forgot Gee was in the same room with Milo, because she was not supposed to find that out.

Obviously Frank didn't tell her that, he just didn't think she'd want to hear that there would be a possibility that a baby could die during childbirth.

So when she heard that, she literally lost all color and suddenly felt super dizzy. She dropped the string of lights and moved to sit on the edge of the couch, breathing heavily.

"Uh..you alright?" Milo asked, turning around.

"I-I just need a minute." She said, getting off of the couch and walking towards the bathroom.

Both Anthony and Milo watched her, but only Anthony went after her. She left the door unlocked, so Anthony just walked right in and gently closed the door. He saw her pacing back and fourth with a very distraught look on her face.

"You doing okay?"

"Anthony - What if one of my babies die? You said it yourself, that's what happened with your moms third baby." She wheezed, finding it very hard to catch her breath. "Is that why I lost the other baby?"

"Gee, it's okay. You're carrying twins, and my mom had a bunch of health issues. I mean, Frank and I made it out alive."

"But I don't have strong hormones, I-I'm on these injections but what if they don't work? And why didn't Frank tell me this before I got pregnant?"

"Calm down." He sighed, placing his hands on Gee's shoulders. "He didn't tell you because he didn't want you to worry for nothing, he knows the babies will be okay. Just, take a bubble bath and Milo and I will finish decorating. We'll even start dinner."

"But-"

"No. I'm gonna leave you alone now, please don't worry." He insisted, hugging her before leaving the bathroom.

He figured since it was his fault she got worked up, that he should give her a little break for the day, even though the decorations were almost done. Plus she already had to put up with Jamia, and Frank being so damn secretive.

As soon as Anthony left, Gee just caved in and started running water. Before she got undressed, Anthony came back in with two things. One was the baby book, and the other was a playgirl magazine that he had stashed in his suitcase.

"Here. Didn't know which you'd want, so I brought both." He winked, setting them on the edge of the bathtub. "By the way, Milo didn't see."

She didn't get a chance to say anything before Anthony reached over, locked the door and then closed it. I mean, she appreciated the gesture but she didn't want to be rude, but she also didn't want to pass an orgasm up.

So, she lit a few candles and made sure it was relaxing. She sat out a couple towels on the floor next to the bathtub, and turned music on, more specifically Mew.


	12. Mama

Two weeks, 14 days and some change, passed. Making it a week before Christmas and Frank was just itching to tell everyone. Gee was excited, too, but Frank, he was over the moon excited about becoming a father, let alone telling his parents about the pregnancy.

They weren't exactly sure how they were gonna announce the pregnancy, though Franks cookie idea seemed to be taking the lead. Gee was still thinking about the comic book thing, she even started to draft the thing. But writers block caught up to her, so she had to take a break from the comic.

She hasn't gone to those pregnancy classes either, as there was some unresolved issues between Jamia and herself, it was like putting a dog and a cat in the room, there was no way that something bad wouldn't happen.

It would've been different if Frank was there, because he could distract her. But Frank was gone a lot the past few weeks, he'd spend a few nights at Matt's or Evans. Which meant he'd have to see Jamia on occasion, which wasn't a good thing because being around her made him a little uncomfortable, just knowing that he once loved her and then betrayed her, made him feel very bad.

-

On a snowy, dark Saturday evening, Frank, and Gee decided to make some cookies. Not the cookies that were going to be used to announce the pregnancy, just the normal chocolate chip. He sat on a barstool while Gee mixed the batter, he stole chocolate chips from the measuring cup, and little balls of cookie dough from the tray.

Anthony, Kyle and Milo went out Christmas shopping for the day, and would be coming back sometime soon. With the three of them gone, they were able to spend some time to themselves, without having a small child running around their home.

Gee still had no idea about the party, but she was suspicious of Frank's constant in-and-out, mysterious phone calls, and late nights in his office. She chalked it up to be about them moving, as the babies would be there before they knew it, a realtor even showed up at the home a week prior.

They discussed moving to closer to where Frank's Mom and her Dad is, around the Belleville area. but they didn't have any house with 3 bedrooms available, only four.

They found a place close to their current home, but they'd need to look around it first before making any final decisions. They had a tour scheduled for after New Years, so they'd have some time to weigh on this whole moving idea. Frank insisted that they do it mid-February, even though she'd be in her 4th month, and time would soon run out.

"Hey, stop eating my batter." She scolded Frank, swatting his hand away.

"Sorry. But like, we could turn our basement into a play room, like for our kids and the dogs. Like they'd have their own beds and crates full of toys. And for our kids' rooms, we can put dog beds in there for the dogs."

"I don't know how we can handle puppies and babies. But if you can make-"

She went to give him permission to get a dog, but then it would take all the surprise out of his Christmas gift. I mean, he would still be happy either way, but she wanted to be the one to give him a really nice gift. So she just lied and said no.

"What if we just got one dog?"

"Fine, you can have more batter."

"Cookie dough isn't gonna distract me." He sighed, taking the spatula and licking the batter.

"I know, babe. But it's just not the right time to adopt a puppy, maybe after the babies are born and we get a grip on things." She said, walking over to put the cookies in the oven.

"But, there's this dog at the shelter, I don't think anyone knows what breed she is but she's fucking beautiful. She's been there for a while cause no one wants to adopt her."

And just like that, Gee found a dog. She's been searching on different adoption sites, but none of those dogs Frank had this big of a soft spot for. Frank's been volunteering at this shelter for years, so he's grown really attached to her.

Christmas was still a week and a half away, but she'd just feel really guilty if she put it off and the dog ended up getting adopted. So, she untied her apron and handed it over to Frank.

"Can you take over the cookies? I uh, I forgot. I need to get bagels." She said, washing her hands.

"What? We just went to the store-"

"I need bagels!" Annoyed. Grabbing her wallet off of the kitchen table. She grabbed her leather jacket off of a chair before she ran out of the kitchen.

It was only moments later when Frank heard the front door open and close. He was really confused to say the least, like no one needs bagels that badly. Especially when they already had it. Then again, her hormones and cravings have been all over the place, so he just safely blamed that on those.

He stayed in the kitchen, and played music such as Rise Against, and Metallica as he kept an eye on the cookies.

Right as he took the cookie trays out of the oven, he heard Anthony and his family walking into the house with handfuls of shopping bags.

Anthony told Kyle that he could go into the living room and watch TV, and Milo said he could take all the bags upstairs so he could hide and start wrapping them. After Anthony helped Kyle set up the television, he went into the kitchen to see what Frank was up to.

"Hey- what smells so good?" Anthony asked, walking into the kitchen and smelling the strong, fresh baked cookie scent.

"I've been standing here farting." Frank casually said, placing the cookies on a plate. "Gee made cookies."

"Very funny. Where is she?"

"I dunno. She said she needed to go to the store a half hour ago."

"Well the stores are packed-"

"She went to get bagels."

"But you have some? I literally made Milo and I two this morning."

"We do, so like I don't know why she was such in a hurry. She hasn't even been craving that, she's been craving Froot Loops, and olives. And she fucking hates olives." He sighed, handing Anthony a cookie.

"I don't know, bro. But when are you gonna tell her about the real reason behind the party? You've told everyone but her. It won't be long before the word gets back to her."

"When it happens. Don't give it away either, I had to go to the doctor three times in the past few weeks for steroids, and I don't want that to be for nothing. And I'm gonna change her twitter password until then, cause Evan is posting one tonight, and she's always on twitter."

"You know I'm bad with secrets, like I told her about Thomas when she never asked. It kinda slipped out." Anthony admitted, flinching as he saw Franks expression fall. "Wait, why aren't you beating the shit out of me? I literally just told her a secret you've kept hidden for years."

"Because, I'm not mad. Just a little worried because she's so sensitive about that subject. Y'know."

"Yeah."

"Okay so, I'm gonna go upstairs and pack our bags."

"More cookies for me then." Anthony said, bringing the plate of cookies closer. And well, Frank flipped him off, took a cookie and then left the room.

Meanwhile, at the shelter a few miles into town, Gee was looking around for the one dog Frank described earlier.

There were a lot dogs in that place, it was genuinely heartbreaking to see them all there, abandoned by their owners. As upsetting as the sight was, she couldn't just pick any, Frank had feelings for this dog in particular.

Gee had a little bit of a tough time describing the Jane Doe of dogs, but when she said that the dog had some mysterious breed, the employee led her into the back where there were more dogs. She said that they already named the puppy, and they had just recently named her Sweetpea.

"Are you sure you want to adopt this dog? It's just that anyone who says they will, backs out before the adoption is finalized."

"Yes, I'm sure. But, this is the dog Frank spends the most time with, right?"

"Yeah. Well since you're so sure, I'll go get the paperwork and she'll be yours." The lady said, leaving the room. She came out with a stack of papers and a pen.

Even though Gee wasn't too excited about getting a dog, she was happy that it would make Frank happy, and that's all that mattered.

Long story short and a lot of paperwork later, Sweetpea was officially adopted by the Iero's. The lady put her in a black carrier and handed her off to Gee, along with the certificate of her adoption and record of vaccinations.

She never really wanted a dog, but Frank didn't want a cat either, and they've had Mitch for years. So it was fair if she did this for him. Gee did like dogs, she and Frank had one at their old apartment, but she preferred cats.

Since she didn't want him to know before Christmas, she figured that she would buy all the food, toys, and a bed and takes it all to Linda's house for Christmas, his mother wouldn't mind taking care of the dog for a while.

With that in her mind, she piled all the dog supplies in the back of her car and made her way over to her home. About 20 minutes went past before she got to Linda's home, she was home thankfully. Frank's Dad was there too, his car was parked behind some mysterious lady's car.

When she pulled in front of the house, she grabbed the carrier and bag of dog supplies and walked up the driveway.

The dog kept whimpering and shivering In the crate, seemingly very cold because of the snow. She didn't have much fur, it was really short so it wouldn't provide much warmth. And the crate wasn't insulated, in fact, the plastic made it so much more cold.

"Miss. Pricolo?" She said cautiously, the front door cracked open, letting the cool air in and the warm, cinnamon scented air escape. "It's Gee. I um, need help with something."

Strangely enough, Linda didn't answer. It was odd because Linda never left her house, especially around Christmas and when the roads were bad. Though, she figured that she could give the dog to Frank's dad in the meantime, as he was staying with Linda until his place was done. Frank might've been taking a nap, hence the lack of answer, so she figured she would drop the dog off with a note.

As she finished writing the note, she heard a thump come from upstairs. It spooked her a little, but she knew that it was Frank's father, probably waking up from his nap.

She grabbed the dog carrier, and carried Sweet-pea up the stairs, the old creaky stairs.

A bedroom door was cracked open, letting out a beam of light into the hallway. Soft music was heard, probably some old tunes that he grew up listening to.

Then she heard a giggle, followed by a few hushes. It seemed that Frank had someone over, and they were hooking up. It couldn't have been Linda, as she and Frank were divorced, and have been for a very long time. It only made sense that Frank was seeing someone else.

Gee wanted to slowly creep out of the home, to give Frank and the mysterious woman a little bit of privacy, but Sweet-Pea began whimpering and barking, as she wanted to be let out of the carrier.

"Oh no." Gee gasped, freezing in her place. "Shit."

It took only a few minutes before Frank came out of the guest bedroom, he wore nothing but a tied white robe, and a pair of black socks.

Frank looked frazzled and a sweaty. it looked quite obvious to what she was doing. Then the woman came out seconds later, wearing a robe as well.

"Gee? What are you doing here?"

"I uh, I got Frank's Christmas present and needed help hiding it." She gulped, unable to turn around and face Frank. "I would've called, but I left my phone at home."

"You look like you saw a ghost. Are you okay?" Frank asked, walking down the stairs and placing a hand on her back. "Go sit at the kitchen table, I'll make you a cup of tea,"

Instead of showing anymore hesitation, she just agreed and walked down to the kitchen with Frank. She sat at the island, trying her best to conjure up some excuse to leave.

"So, have you and Frank decided if you wanted to find the baby's gender before, or when it's born?"

"I think we're going to find out before the baby is born. So uh, this was nice, but I have to get home to Frank. I should probably leave you two alone." She mumbled, getting up off the chair.

"Please don't tell Frank about the dog. And if she destroys anything. I'll pay for it."

"Gee, I know that you saw Debbie, she and I met a while ago, and she'll be moving in with me once my house is done. Don't tell Frank, or Anthony, they should hear it from me." Frank seemed a little scared that Gee would say something, but he could trust her, especially when it came to Frank.

Gee agreed that she wasn't going mention it, because they'd find out eventually and it wasn't her place to say anything, it was between Frank and his kids. It really didn't involve her at all. Frank wasn't sure if they would be serious, so he was going to wait to tell Frank about Debbie.

-

Anthony was in the living room with his husband, and son, and Frank was in the laundry room folding clothes from the dryer, when she returned home. She didn't even return home with bagels, and when Frank or Anthony brought it up, she just said that the store was out of them.

She was unusually tired when she returned home, so while Frank finished up the laundry, Gee went upstairs so she could rest for a little bit. She laid down and read a comic book with the intent of relaxing. .

Frank came up eventually, he closed the door behind himself then crawled into bed next to Gee. He grabbed her comic book, closed it and tossed it onto her nightstand.

"Hey, what gives? Wolverine was just about to - "

"I wanna cuddle." He interrupted her, laying his head on her chest.

"Well i'm certainly not opposed to that."

"While you were gone, I caught up on reading in that book Jamia gave us. And our babies are the size of olives." He said, moving his hand down to her belly. "I wish we had a time machine, so we can skip until July and see our babies. It's like waiting for cookies to be done, they take so long but when they're finally out, it's the best thing."

"Yeah. Can we name them Satine and Christian?"

"No. But like, I have a few suggestions."

"What are they?"

"Well, I've always liked Miles, and Emily. I would've chosen my name, but there are already 3 generations of Frank Iero's. Maybe we can name our daughter after you."

"I don't like my name, though."

"There's one more thing. Next month is like around the time we can find out the genders. Can we? I don't think I have enough patience to wait, I already have to wait 9 fucking months to meet them. Plus I really wanna buy more baby things."

"I mean, you were a big part in creating them, so yeah, we can."

"Sweet." He yawned, closing his eyes. "See? Having sex with me has a lot of benefits."

"Sex with you is always nice. It's better when I don't feel like one of Pennywise's balloons."

"I was thinking, maybe tonight after everyone is asleep. You and I can screw around for a while? We would now, but like, I'm super tired. And the best foreplay is sleep, such a turn on." He mumbled, rubbing her belly softly. "Already getting hard."

He kept his hand on her belly as they drifted off to sleep, finding the little bump filled with fetuses to be soft and comforting. He just liked touching it because he wanted to feel them move or kick, even though it was far too early for that, a little piece of him thought that he would be the first one to feel them.

While Frank dreamed about holding his children for the first time, a recurring dream he's had since they found out Gee was pregnant, Gee was dreaming about something less innocent or cute.

The dream started off with Frank pulling away from her, and she could see his tattooed body in full frame. He only wore a pair of tight black underwear, which had a very prominent lump against the fabric. The lights were dim in the room, the only source of light being a few candles.

Everything seemed to be kinda fuzzy, but the only clear thing were the men in front of her. One was Frank, and well, the other was someone else.

After what seemed like a blink of an eye, Frank was naked. So was she, she could hear him whispering something into her ear, but she couldn't quite comprehend what it was. It was probably something super dirty, because then Frank smirked, bit his lip and reached over to grab her boobs.

Frank had leaned down to leave dark, raised hickeys on her boobs, one hand held onto her hip while the other was between his legs.

Time skipped again, to where he was between her legs as his hands held onto her thighs, and the other man was behind her, touching her boobs and kissing her neck. She could hear a faint growling, and whisper of her name, and felt a dull poking on her side. Then everything seemed to break away in pieces.

She tried grabbing onto something, but it all went away fast, and the small mutters of her name became more audible. Then finally, she woke up. The room was darker than it had been, so they must've slept for hours, even though it didn't seem like it.

When she woke up, she felt incredibly warm, but then she realized Frank had been holding her and the extra warmth was because of him, and the poking. No wonder she had a sex dream.

"Gee?" She heard Frank whisper, his head poking up. "You awake?"

"Hm? Yeah, i'm up. What time is it?"

"It's 4 o' clock. But do you know what else?

"What?"

"It's 4 o'clock." He repeated, grinding his crotch against her behind. Knowing that she was awake, he switched their position to where he was straddling her hips, his hands on her boobs. "And I'm horny."

"I heard you whimpering in your sleep, and my name slipped out a few times. And like, there was no fucking way I couldn't pop one." He said, moving over and leaning over the side of the bed, digging for something.

Gee then sat up with her back against the headboard, and looked over to see Franks upper half laying over the bed.

He soon came back up, holding a black toy in his hand. More specifically, the one they messed with on his birthday. He looked at her with a smirk as he turned the toy on, a audible 'buzz' coming from the toy.

"Take your pants off."

"Fuck, yeah, okay." She nodded quickly, getting off of the bed so she could take her navy sweat pants off, leaving her in a pair of Star Wars underwear. "Wait, what about Anthony?"

Right as she said that, Frank's expression fell as he turned the vibrator off. "Fuck I forgot. Any chance you can say the babies are making you sick, and ask if he can run and get you whatever pregnant ladies need?"

As if Anthony had this planned and followed a cue, he grabbed a hold of the bedroom door and pushed it open. He held Kyle in his arms, and Milo stood behind him. Frank was quick to hide the vibrator under a pillow. And well, Gee was in her underwear and just a long sleeve, but that seemed pretty normal.Frank kept his back to Anthony because he was still sporting a hard-on.

"Hey, while you guys slept, we made dinner."

"Awesome, we'll be right down. Actually - give us 10 minutes."

"Don't take too long, we're gonna watch Star Wars. And I set out some olives, too." He said, winking at Gee. Then he left, making sure to close the bedroom door.

"Ten minutes? Can you finish that quickly?" Frank asked, reaching under to the pillow. "Wait, why are you putting your pants on? You're supposed to take them off, let me see that-"

"He mentioned Star Wars and olives, that alone is enough to give me an orgasm. But like, if you don't jerk off before dinner is over, we can do whatever you want."

"Seriously?"

"Fuck yeah." In agreement, she kissed his cheek before running out of the room, leaving him sit on the bed, clearly frustrated and a little excited. Never mind, he was super fucking excited. He already knew what he wanted to do, he just had to check the mail and make sure it came.

He got off of the bed, grabbed a over sized Mickey Mouse hoodie from Disney, and a pair of vans. He ran out of the room, down the stairs and into the living room. He plopped down on the couch next to Gee. Before he grabbed his plate, he put a pillow on his lap. Sure, it was a little taller than it should've been, but who's gonna question that?

Like Anthony said, they'd be watching Star Wars. Which seemed pretty normal until Luke Skywalker came on screen. Gee had just taken a bite of her spaghetti when he came on, big mistake.

As soon as Luke came on screen, her eyes widened and she choked. She dropped her fork as she fought to catch her breath, catching the attention of Frank, Anthony and Milo.

"Holy shit, are you okay?"

"Y-Yeah, just um, I put a little too much pepper on mine." She managed to choke out, though she really meant was "Mark Hamill was the other man in my sex dream.", but there was no way she'd say that.

She didn't see him as the son of Darth Vader, she saw him as the man who touched her in a dream, she didn't want it to be sexual, but like, she looked up to him as a hero, not a sex icon.

"Maybe some dick will help." Frank whispered into her ear, eyes focusing on the TV. "I'm going to check the mail, and when I get back, you better be done eating."

All she could do was nod as he got up. He told Anthony that his stomach didn't feel too well, so he was going to lay upstairs for a while.

Anthony insisted that he stayed down with them, and he would give Frank a bottle of sprite, but Frank said he wanted to be closer to the bathroom.

Anthony caved and let him go upstairs, and as soon as Frank got permission, he ran out of the room and into the kitchen. He sat plate into the sink, ran out to the foyer and then put a pair of shoes on.

He managed to sneak out the front door without Anthony noticing. When he stepped out, he saw a package sitting on their doorstep.

It was from a private sender, and was addressed to him. The cardboard box was a little damp because of the snow, but It was his package!

"Sweet." He mumbled to himself, picking up his package and tucking it under his arm.

But, the surprises didn't stop there. As he walked up the porch stairs, he saw little paw prints in the thin layer of snow.

He thought it was a squirrel or Mitch, but then he realized squirrels are in hibernation, and Mitch is an indoor cat. And the paws were too big to be either.

Out of curiosity, his eyes followed the trail of paw prints. They followed all the way to the side of the house, where their trash cans were.

The paw prints stopped suddenly, but there was small whimpers coming from behind a trash bag. He pushed it aside to reveal a dog, snow on her back and a torn ear. She looked helpless, and well, Frank wanted to help.

Frank, being a lover for all animals and creatures, took his hoodie off, brushed the snow off of the dog and then wrapped the fragile creature in the fabric. He cradled her like a baby, hoping his warmth would rub off on her.

She wore a torn, white collar without a name, or pennant. She didn't have a home, name or owner, poor thing.

He quickly went back to the house, not slipping on ice, thank god. He ran back into the house, sat the package on the stairs and ran into the living room. Gee was just getting up as he ran in, catching everyone's attention.

Before anyone said anything, Frank spoke up.

"I went outside to see if a package came, and uh, t-there was a dog. She was abandoned and left in the cold. Some sick idiot decided to drop her off on our lawn because they didn't want her. Anthony, can you please, run and get dog food, bowls and toys? She'll need a collar, too."

"Yeah - Kyle, go get your shoes. You're gonna come with me." Anthony said, getting up off of the floor. "Milo, he's in the kitchen cleaning, I'll tell him."

"Gee, come up with me and we're gonna give the dog a bath."

Nodding, Gee got off the couch and walked along Frank.

She picked the package off the stairs as they walked up it, paying no mind to who it was from, because well, there was more important things happening.

Anthony soon left, genuinely worried about the dog. Milo stayed behind to help clean the kitchen, figuring it would help In some way.

When they got upstairs, Frank went into his bathroom with Gee, and she turned the warm water on in the bathtub and grabbed a stack of warm towels. They filled it so it was about an inch and a half deep.

Frank gently unwrapped the dog, took her collar off and placed them her the water, shivering uncontrollably. He felt awful for the poor thing, god knows what could've happened. As soon as she touched the water, she flinched and whimpered.

"Hey, you're okay. It's just warm water." Frank said softly, using his hand to rub water on her back. "Babe, can you get Mitch's shampoo? Her fur is so dirty and like, maybe it'll make her feel better."

"Okay." She reached over to the basket next to the bathtub, full of various shampoos and soaps, and took the bottle of cat shampoo.

Frank washed her fur gently, dirt, blood and grime clouded around her in the water. As she got clean, Frank and Gee could see her better. She wasn't small, she was a normal sized dog, but she was extremely thin and obviously starving, Her fur was short, a brown color, with small specs of black.

When her bath was done, Frank picked her up gently and wrapped her in a black towel. He told Gee he wanted to blow-dry her fur, but on a low setting so she wouldn't get scared, and it would help her warm up.

Frank held her as Gee dried her fur, he could still feel her shivering, probably because she was scared, or hungry. Frank wasn't sure how he'd feed her, or if she'd even eat.

Anthony didn't take too long at the pet supply store, maybe 15 minutes or so. When he got back, he put the food bowls in the kitchen, filled one with food and the other with water. He left the receipt on the counter for Frank.

After the dog was all dry and warmed up, Frank carried her back downstairs and into the kitchen. Gee stayed upstairs, apparently olives and spaghetti don't mix very well. They tasted great going down, but not so much coming up.

"She's alive and warm." He said, crouching down next to her food bowl. "Her ear is torn, though. But she'll get better."

"She got a name?"

"I think I wanna call her Mama." Sighing, Frank unwrapped the dog and sat her in front of her food. She looked around and sniffed, her balance and coordination poor. "It's okay, you can eat, Mama."

"Milo, babe, can you go check on Ky? He's in the living room. And like, I need to talk to Frank in private." Anthony asked, placing a hand on Milo's back, kissing his cheek. Milo was finished with the kitchen, so it wasn't that big of a problem, plus he'd rather spend time with his son.

"That's it, good girl." Praising, Frank gently rubbed the dogs back as she ate, her pink tongue dipping into the water. He smiled as he heard the food crunch, feeling a sense of relief when he knew she was eating.

Anthony sat beside Frank, he reached into his pocket and pulled out two ultrasound photos, Gee's and his mothers. He looked down at them, then at Frank, a hint of worry in his eyes

"Is that Gee's ultrasound picture?"

"Yeah. Listen, she let me look at this the other day, and something isn't right. Now, i'm no expert on pregnancy or whatever, but like, I've seen mom's ultrasound from when she was pregnant, and they're just, look." Sighing, he slid both over to Frank, his mothers on the right, and Gee's on the left. "Mom's was at like, she said 9 weeks. And Gee's, she said around 11."

"So?"

"She's not pregnant, like how you say she is."


	13. A Flashback

"Anthony, don't take the last fortune cookie." Gee scolded, she swatted Anthony's hand away as he reached for the last cookie.

"No. Fuck you." He shot back. He took the cookie as he flipped her off with his free hand.

Frank, Anthony, and Gee were spending a night to themselves, they ordered Chinese food and watched Die Hard, which seemed like a typical night. Anthony's husband would've been there, but he had some business to take care of back in Los Angeles. 

Frank and his wife had just moved into their home, so there were unpacked boxes everywhere. Anthony didn't mind, in fact, he wanted to help them unpack to make things on them easier. Frank played a playlist of their favorite songs as they unpacked. Their first priority was the kitchen, then the living room. Their bedroom and bathrooms were all set up, just the major rooms needed a little help.

It was a little hard because Mitch insisted on laying on the boxes, and he'd hiss when Frank would try and move him, so Frank would have to get Gee to get him off, otherwise, he'd be covered in scratches. He liked Anthony, though.

The past few days have been quite amazing. It was just like their early adult lives, no rules, they were allowed to stay up until whatever time, eat junk and drink. Gee wasn't allowed to drink, so it was close enough. But the only thing different, was that she woke up every morning, puking her guts out.

Though, the night quickly turned sour as something went wrong with Gee.As she ate, she felt super nauseous, strange. In her lower back and lower abdomen, she felt this sudden cramping, it was so extreme she saw stars. It couldn't have been her period, because she didn't get those anymore.

"Babe, you okay?" Frank had asked. He noticed her acting a little strange. He saw out of the corner of his eye, that she was very distressed and clutching her stomach.

"I-It feels like someone just stabbed me." She whimpered. Her body was hunched over with hands wrapped around her abdomen, as a way to try and soothe some of the pain. "Fuck."

"Lay down, it'll be okay." He said. He placed his hand over hers.

She did lay down, it fucking hurt to move though, it was like someone stabbed her and dug the knife around. Frank went and brought her a few painkillers, which seemed to help temporally.

The cramps would come and go, they became more painful as time went on. Something wasn't right, she knew it. But she didn't know what could be wrong. Anthony, Frank, and herself ended up passing out in the living room, despite her agonizing pain.

She dreamed of Star Wars, her husband and cat. The twisting pain would waver in and out, but around 1:30 A.M., she woke up. She went to sit up, so she could go in her own bed, but something went wrong.

As she moved, she felt this gush of something between her legs. She didn't think it was urine, it couldn't have been, because it was thick, and urine isn't thick.

Extremely curious, she reached over and turned the lamp on. She looked between her legs and saw blood, blood staining her grey sweatpants and the couch, the crimson red growing into a bigger spot. Her heart sunkto the pit of her stomach.

"Oh my god." She stuttered, her whole body filled with fear, literally paralyzing her, something wasn't right. "Frank!" She screamed, her hands shaking. "Wake up, please."

Frank laid on the floor below her, so of course, it didn't take long for him to wake up. Anthony heard her scream too, so he woke up as well. They both were super confused, as anyone would be.

"Gee, what's wrong? Are you okay?" He whispered, voice still filled with sleep. He lifted himself off of the floor and looked up at Gee, seeing the puddle of blood between her legs.

"I think i'm dying. T-There's blood, and I'm in so much pain-"

"Holy fuck. Anthony, getup."

"What? Why?" The younger twin groaned, sitting up and rubbing his tired eyes. "It's two in the fucking morning, dude."

"We need to take Gee to the hospital, something isn't right. She's bleeding and she doesn't think it's her like, monthly thing." He tried to explain it as best as he could, as his mind spun.

Gee attempted to get off the couch, but with the pain being too intense, she fell to her knees with a whine. Frank quickly ran over, and grabbed onto Gee's arm, he wrapped it around his shoulder so he can help her up. "It's okay, baby. You're okay."

"Oh god. I'm gonna go get my shoes." Anthony said, as he got out of his makeshift bed.

He ran to the front door, the cool hardwood floors sending shivers down his spine. He snatched a pair of house slippers. He came back to the living room and did as Frank had done, so they both held Gee up.

They helped her out of the living room and into the garage, Frank had grabbed himself and Gee a pair of shoes before they made it out the door. He told Anthony that he had to drive because he wanted to stay in the back with Gee, to make sure she was okay and didn't pass out.

He held onto her throughout the car ride, she cried and gasped for air, the pain being too much. She couldn't breathe, think or even move, she didn't know what could be going on, the only plausible thing would be that she was dying. She lost so much blood, causing her to feel extremely weak.

Anthony drove 15 miles over the speed limit, he didn't care he could've gotten pulled over, he was more worried about Gee. He tried his best to avoid speed bumps or red lights, but even at two in the morning, he seemed to hit nearly every red light.

Finally, they pulled into Belleville Memorial Hospital's emergency room. Anthony quickly parked the car and went to the back seat, helping Gee out. They did as they did before and helped her into the ER.

A nurse instantly caught a glimpse of them as they walked in. Twin boys carrying a lady, her pants soaked in blood and her cheeks stained with tears. She rushed over with a clipboard and asked what happened.

"S-She complained about her stomach hurting, and then she started bleeding, like actually gushing blood." As best as he could explain the situation, Frank looked at the nurse with fearful eyes.

"Ma'am, what's your name, and birth date?"

"Geralyn Way- Iero. I was born April 9th, 1981." She choked out, she tried her best to gather herself for just a moment.

"Follow me." The nurse said. She tucked her clipboard under her arm as she led the trio back. She led them into a room, the lights bright and the bed made.

Frank and Anthony helped her onto the bed, all while she cried. As soon as she laid on the bed, she curled onto her side, holding her stomach. The nurse closed the curtains for a little privacy.

"Miss, are you pregnant or breastfeeding?" She asked. She placed her stethoscope on Gee's chest, hearing her heart pound.

"No, I'm not breastfeeding or pregnant."

"I'll need the doctor to do an ultrasound to see what's going on. Gentlemen, I'll need you to leave."

"What? I'm staying in here with her." Frank insisted. He crossed his arms in protest. He really didn't want to leave, something was wrong with Gee, he couldn't just way away.

"The doctor needs room to work, you need to leave. You can come back when he's done examining her."

"Fine." He huffed. He walked over and kissed Gee's head. He told her everything would be fine, and he would be just outside the room. He and Anthony left, and then a doctor came down the hall, pushing a ultrasound machine.

Anthony and himself waited out in the waiting room, anxiously. Anthony suggested they go get coffee from the cafeteria, but Frank wanted to stay close just in case something were to happen. But Anthony said he would go get coffee, and would be back soon.

When he came back, he saw that Frank was on the phone. With someone he assumed to be their mother.

Apparently, the doctor had come out and said that it would be a good idea to call a few family members and explain the situation, if his suspicions were correct. He called his mother, Mikey, and Gee's father.

A while after he hung up, the doctor came out again. He said they were allowed to go back and sit with her while test results came back, which shouldn't take too long.

Frank of course went back to see Gee. She was dressed in a paper gown, a cloth over her legs and a bandage on her arm, her hair slightly damp with sweat and eyes puffy. She was still in a great deal of pain, but the nurse had given her another dose of pain killers.

"Frank!" She gasped. Her arms reached out for him like a child, her eyes red and filled with tears. He hugged her, and held her shaking body in his arms. "Are you okay?"

"He wouldn't tell me what's wrong - all he said was that he needed to wait until tests came back." She said, arms held onto him.

"Everything will be okay, I promise."

They waited in the room for a while, Frank sat next to her and rubbed her back, she held his hand and rested her head on his shoulder, she felt like nothing bad could happen next to him.

About a half hour passed before the doctor came in, he sat on a stool and held his clipboard. He had this expression on his face that he knew something was bad, like trying to conceal it for the time being.

"How are you feeling, Mrs. Iero?" Her doctor, Dr. Cahill asked.

"I just want to know what happened."

He sighed as he looked over at Frank, who was just as scared as she was, if not more. "Are you her husband?"

"Yeah, I am."

"Well, the test results came back. Your hCG, human chorionic gonadotropin, is a hormone that the placenta produces after implantation, levels are low, but they were enough for a pregnancy test to back positive. Unfortunately, you had suffered a miscarriage, which explains the hemorrhaging, nausea and intense pain. "

They didn't know what they were expecting, but that certainly wasn't it. A miscarriage? How did that even happen? She did everything the doctor told her to.

"Though, you were still in the very early stages of pregnancy, so your uterus had cleared itself from the fetal tissue, so there's nothing more we can do. The cramps will subside over the next 24 hours, as will the bleeding in about 5-14 days, wearing menstrual products will help." He continued on, he kept his voice as quiet as possible. "Like pads, avoid tampons. No sex for about a month, or until your body heals."

"Why? I-I didn't drink, I didn't smoke -" She stuttered, her lip quivered as she looked up at her doctor, feeling minuscule, confused and helpless. "We can still try for another, right? It was just not the right time. Like in a couple weeks, I'll be pregnant and It'll be fine-"

"I'm really sorry, Mrs. Iero. But in the tests, it showed that your eggs, aren't strong enough to carry a pregnancy to full term. Or even through the first trimester. It's a miracle that your husband's sperm was even able to fertilize your egg."

"No- that's not right. If I could get pregnant, I-I can carry a baby." She insisted, unable to comprehend what the man told her.

"You can get pregnant, yes. Not only is it very rare, it'll also more than likely end in a miscarriage. I would like to see you back in a week or two. The hospital has programs to help women like you, get through this. I strongly recommend that you go, it'll help you a lot."

"Are you sure? The other doctor, he-he said we could have kids - and that everything was normal? H-He tested both of us."

"I'm very sorry, there's really nothing we can do. Maybe you can consider adoption, or surrogacy. I should let you two alone, the nurse will be back soon with papers that'll help you. Take care." Then he left, he patted Gee's shoulder before he- 

"Mrs. Iero?" And just like that, Gee was snapped out of her daze.

She was a pre-natal appointment when being hit with a boulder of a question. Frank's father had tagged along, because Frank promised that he could go to one of the appointments. Basically wanting to show his father what he helped create. He and Anthony stayed at home, watching the dog they named Mama. 

They wanted to come, but someone needed to watch the puppy. However, he was promised that he could come to the next. 

Dr. Cahill had just given Gee a shot of estrogen and did an examination, then he ordered for a sonogram. He sent in a nurse to do an ultrasound to make sure the babies are growing properly. 

"I-I'm sorry, can you repeat that? I just, thought of something I shouldn't have." 

"I asked if you've ever been pregnant before, or if you've had a miscarriage." Dr. Cahill's main nurse asked, squirting blue gel on Gee's lower abdomen. 

"I uh, yeah. I have."

"How long ago was that?" 

"I must've forgotten." She lied. She knew she could tell the day, hour and minute that it happened, but she didn't want to think of that anymore. 

"I'm sure we'll find it in your file." Heather, the nurse smiled. She pressed a few buttons as she moved the wand around. "Can you hear that? Those are the heartbeats." 

They all could hear the noise, sounding like a herd of horses galloping in a odd way. Frank's dad nearly cried when he heard all the heartbeats, it was nice to hear them because he was gonna be a grandfather to more children that he can spoil. 

Though, he soon became concerned when he saw the nurse look at the screen with a puzzled look. They couldn't see the screen, it was turned more towards the nurse. She got up from her seat, told Gee that she needed to get the doctor and he would be back. 

"I hope the boy is okay." Frank's dad said, nudging Gee. 

"What makes you so sure?" Gee asked, using her arms as a makeshift pillow. "Donna had me and Mikey, not two boys." 

"I have two sons. And Anthony has a son." 

"But he's adopted?"

"Hey, don't say that. It's not very nice." 

"Sorry." 

Within seconds, Dr. Cahil came walking in. He sat on the stool in front of the ultrasound machine, picked up the wand and placed it on her lower abdomen, moving it around. his eyes scanned over the screen, the reflection showing in his glasses.

"Is everything okay?" Gee asked, turning her head to face the doctor. 

"I'm gonna need the other gentleman to leave." Was all he said, pressing a few buttons on the machine. 

He glanced over at Frank's dad, said that he could come back into the room when given permission. Gee didn't want him to leave, but if the doctor needed him to, then it was important. After his dad left, Frank walked closer to where the doctor was, sitting next to Gee.

"I, uh, what if I told you that you weren't pregnant with twins?" 

"Before you answer it." Gee interrupted, looking over at the doctor, propping herself up on her elbows. "I would call it absolute bullshit, and you told me that I was - "

"It seems that we have made a mistake, regarding the pregnancy." He continued, printing out a picture of the ultrasound. "See, there are the babies. I must've looked at the wrong file, you're not pregnant with twins." Explaining, he traced his pinkie around the fetuses. 

"What are they? Can you tell me?"

"Unfortunately, we aren't able to tell if they're males or females yet, but if they're in the right position, we can find out next month. Do you have any questions?"

"How is that even possible? My belly isn't big? It just looks like I ate too much."

"Usually the bump isn't very big for the first three months, but once you get into the second trimester, it'll catch up to you." 

"Huh. There's uh, one more thing. My mother-in-law, she was pregnant with multiples, too. And like, she lost a baby. Is that a possibility in my case?" 

"The chances are slim to none, especially since you're on estrogen." 

"Okay, cool." Sighing, she accepted a paper towel and wiped the gel off of her stomach. She pulled her shirt down and tossed the towel into a nearby trash bin. "I have one more question, am I allowed to paint?"

"I don't recommend it, because of the toxic fumes in paint can harm the baby, but if you do, wear proper protection, such as a mask to cover your nose and mouth."

"You're all done for the day, i'll see you on the 27th." Emmett said, walking over to the door and opening it, letting Gee walk out first, then himself.

Frank's dad stood against the wall, his attention diverting to Gee as she walked out of the room. She seemed to be glowing, like she just received the best news of her life, and super relaxed. 

He asked her if everything was okay, all she said was that everything was fine, just that her doctor needed to go over test results with her. He seemed to buy it, I guess there's no other reason for him not to.

Their plan was to go out to lunch, but Gee asked if they could just go back home, and that she wasn't feeling well. But still promised to let him come to the next appointment. 

So, he dropped her off at her house, then left to go back to where he was staying, with Linda.

When she walked into her house, Frank was coming down the stairs, holding a blanket-wrapped Mama. He made gingerbread cookies, probably for the next day, but that wouldn't work out correctly now. 

"Hey, Gee! How'd your appointment go?"He greeted, excited that Gee was home. 

"It went well. Though, the doctor found something." Biting her lip, she took her coat off and hung it up. She giggled as Frank came over and kissed her cheek, his stubble scratching her skin.

"Are the babies healthy? What did he find?"

"Well, um. I'm not pregnant with twins." She said, leading him into the kitchen. "Not anymore."

"What? I-I thought -" 

"Baby, where's Anthony?" Trying not to spoil the surprise, she smirked as she opened the fridge door. 

"He went to our mothers, Kyle wanted to spend the night there. Gee, did we lose a baby? Why is there only one?" 

"No, we didn't lose a baby. But you just need to wait until tomorrow, it'll be worth it." She winked, opening a jar of pickles, raising the jar to her lips and drinking the juice, the craving slowly being satisfied. "I never said there was one."

"But, I'm the father. Why do I have to wait? And how the hell can you suddenly not be pregnant with twins?"

"Babe, trust me. We didn't lose a baby, okay?"

"Then, how the fuck-"

"No more questions. Let's go wrap gifts, and I promise, you'll know tomorrow." 

"Fine." He groaned, rolling his eyes. 

Gee grabbed the jar of pickles, a can of coke and walked out of the kitchen, Frank following behind her. They went up to their soon, sitting back to back so the other can't see their gifts. But, as they took out the bows, Frank put two on Gee's shirt, right where her boobs are, and she put one above his dick. 

While they wrapped gifts, Frank dropped his pen and it rolled under the bed. As he looked under the bed and reached for it, he found the laptop Gee found in the attic a while back. It was his laptop from college, it had misfits stickers on the top and it had a lingering stench of weed. 

The charger was somehow still attached to it, so he brought it out and plugged it into the wall. He didn't care about Gee seeing gifts, because hers were already wrapped, the only gifts that were still out were Anthony and his family's. 

He laid on his belly in front of the laptop, powering the thing on. 

Gee moved next to him, putting a pillow under her belly as they looked at the screen, slowly flickering to life. 

He hummed, trying to remember his password, with the help of a hint on the screen. 

"Something I love" He thought it would've been something relating to Gee, but it wasn't. It was "Ilovedogs420". Keep in mind, he was in college, had dreads and was always stoned. His background was a collage of photos, consisting of himself and Gee, band logos and of course, a weed symbol. 

The internet was taking light years to work, even the explorer page itself wouldn't load. 

"Fuck this." Groaning, he closed the lid of the laptop. 

"Patience. It'll load-"

"But it's taking too long."

"It's been 2 minutes."

"Fuck your two minutes, i'm going downstairs to make us sandwiches." He said, gently grabbing Mama off of the bed, petting her head as he walked towards the door. "What kind do you want, Mama?"

"What-"

He giggled as he walked out, but didn't respond. Letting Gee roll her eyes and open the laptop lid out of curiosity. She typed in his password and unlocked the screen. She checked the internet, which was connected, but wouldn't work because of how outdated the software was. 

However, notifications still worked. Two new notifications popped up, both from his files. One said that a document finished downloading, as did a video. She clicked on the file first, it was dated "September 12th, 2005", around the time they got engaged. 

it was a list, and as she looked over it, she realized it was a list of how he wanted to propose to her. A lot of it was stuff that didn't happen, like going out to dinner and then a park, instead it was an intimate proposal, somewhere deep in the woods.

There was even a plan for Frank to get a dog, tie a ribbon around it's neck with a note saying "Will you marry me?" attached to it, and then he'd pop out with a ring and get down on one knee. 

She felt her heart flutter at the list, remembering the night oh so vividly. Strange how they've come so far, like now they're married, have a little pet family and have babies on the way. She absentmindedly fiddled with her engagement ring, smiling softly. 

At the bottom of the page was a song, "Untitled", as he called it. It was a song she's heard of, Anthony had given her these papers that had songs written on them, she kept them under her bed at her old home, maybe he was planning to give that to her when he proposed.

She managed to hook her printer up to the computer, and then she printed out the document, the paper in her office. Then she moved onto the video, it was a bigger file, and almost an hour long in duration.

Frank came up shortly, holding two mugs filled with tea. "I made tea instead, I didn't feel like making sandwiches. Is it working?" 

"Yeah, I found some things on it. Hey, what's this video?"

"Probably some nonsense." He shrugged, handing her one of the mugs. He sat next to her, resting the mug between his knees as he still held the dog. 

Actually, it wasn't nonsense. The video shortly began, it showed a young man sitting in his bed, wearing only pair of black and grey, polka-dot boxers. He had a lamp on next to his bed, providing minimal light into the room. There was bottle of something clear on the nightstand, along with a long, slick, black phallic object.

"Holy shit, Frank. Did you record a porno?" She gasped, putting the pieces together. 

"What - no. I-I don't know what that is." Frantically, Frank sat Mama down and tried turning the laptop off, but she swatted his hand away and blocked the keyboard. He grabbed her hands and tried moving them, but she fought back. "Gee, please. T-This isn't right, lets respect their privacy and not watch it - " 

"Is that you?"

He couldn't think of words, his cheeks burned red and he felt like the elephant in the room. He could hardly even remember doing that, or why for that matter, but he was more worried that it happened, and Gee found it. 

Whilst fighting for dominance, Gee accidentally clicked ahead in the video, now showing the mansitting against the headboard, legs apart and hand between them. A loud buzzing came through the speakers, along with moaning and groaning. 

It wasn't until the figure came into better light, when they realized it wasn't Frank, it was a completely different man. It wasn't even taken in his room, because it was a porno. Himself and Anthony shared this laptop, so Anthony probably forgot to delete this off of the laptop. 

Frank was genuinely scared that it was him, and it was a drunken mistake that he recorded the video, but he would've remembered that, and that sure as hell wasn't him. He wasn't even into that kind of nonsense.

"Fuck you and fuck this laptop." He scoffed, falling back on the floor in embarrassment, he covered his face, hiding the blush. "Why the hell was there - ugh."

"Hmm." Humming, she closed the laptop and moved over to him, swinging her leg over so she was straddling his stomach. She looked down at him, biting her lip. 

"What?"

"What would I have to do, for you to put that maid outfit on? Like the one from Paris."

"Gee..." 

"C'mon! You'll look sexy."

"There's no way I can get a boner after a day like today. First, I saw some random dude shove a vibrator up his ass, then I lost an important package, and now I don't even know how many kids i'm having." 

"I'll give you a back massage, topless." 

And just like that, Frank was sold. Not because she'd be topless, but because his back has been so sore due to preparation. Like, he's been in different places testing out the sounds and loading bunkers with equipment.

"Where's the god damn dress?" He sighed in defeat, placing his hands on her thighs. She kissed him before getting up and running over to her closet, opening the door and searching through all her clothes, noticing a bunch were missing. She wasn't too concerned because they were more than likely in the laundry room. 

The dress was in the back of her closet, the feather duster attached via a loop on the waist. She took it off the hanger and handed it over to Frank, smiling. "This better be good."

She just winked as he huffed and walked towards the bathroom, holding the dress. It probably wasn't going to fit him, but then again, they wear almost the same size. 

When Gee heard the little "click" of the bathroom door being locked, she stripped herself of her top and jeans, she tossed them to the side, it left her in a matching pair of underwear and bra. 

Frank came out shortly, completely pissed off and annoyed. The dress was a little too big for him, only in the chest region.

"Woah baby." She whistled, almost in a cat-call way as she looked over at him, leaning against the bed. 

"It can't be that good." 

"You're like, hot. Very hot." 

Frank smacked his ass in response, and then he got on the bed, his stomach facing down, she got on top of the bed and straddled his thighs, holding a bottle of vanilla scented lotion. Her hands went to the buttons on the dress, carefully unbuttoning them. 

His inked back was exposed enough for her to start. She squirted the thick, white, vanilla scented cream on his back, placing the bottle next to him so she could rub the lotion in. Her hands ran over his tattoos, her touch soft yet firm. 

She rubbed his back for a while, humming softly as she loosened the knots in his back. Then Frank brought up the fact that he had a box of macarons in his closet. 

"You're turning me on so much right now." She said, wiping her hands on her thighs as she got up. She went over to Frank's closet and dug through piles of clothes, eventually finding the cookies, neatly sealed with a bow wrapped around them. She brought them out of the closet and went back to the bed.

Frank had rolled over and was taking off the stupid dress, thinking that there wasn't a point to wearing it anymore. He was left in boxers, and black ankle socks. She sat next to him, legs crossed. 

"What favor, my love?" She asked, opening the box, showing him the various cookies. "Wait, here." 

"Vanilla bean? Fuck yeah." Accepting the pale yellow cookie, Frank placed one hand on her thigh. He scooted down so he was laying his head on her chest. He sighed as he heard her heart beat, taking a bite out of the cookie. 

"This is perfect." She said, placing her hand on his side. "I have my husband, cookies and a comfy bed." 

"Hey, after we're done with our cookies, do you wanna fuck?"

"Yes." 

"Cool." He sighed, but then he tossed his cookie to the side, and pounced on her like an animal. "Actually, let's not wait. I'm going to fuck you so hard, baby." 

"Prove it." 

\- 

A phone ringing downstairs woke Gee up, and Frank was nowhere to be seen. She stretched her arms and yawned, the clock beside her read 11:37 (P.M.). 

Frank wasn't in bed anymore, maybe he went downstairs to get a snack, or went to pee, either of them were plausible. But she was more focused on putting a sweater on because it was winter, and the heating wasn't on so it was super cold. 

She put slippers on and left the room, heading down to the laundry room. Mitch and Mama followed her down, each weaving between her legs. When she got into the room, all of the laundry was done and folded, and Frank, well he was the one folding them. 

"Hey, baby." He said, turning around to see Gee. "I'm sorry if I woke you up, Cara called. Then I couldn't sleep so I figured I should finish up our laundry."

"No, it's okay. You know, today at the doctor, he said we can find out the genders next month." She went over to grab a folded t-shirt out of the basket, catching his attention. 

"Why would we need to? Obviously they're-" 

"Frank, what was that?" 

"What?"

"I heard something outside. I'm gonna go check it out."

"I'm coming with you." Frank quickly reached to grab a baseball bat, which they kept in case of situations like this, or large spiders under the dryer. He handed Gee the wooden bat and walked behind her. 

As they got closer to the front door, the louder the rustling noises got. Their hearts raced as they got closer to the door. "Is it Cara?"

"No. She's in L.A with her friends." Whispering, Frank grabbed onto Gee's shoulders, crouching so he was hiding. Gee gulped before hesitantly reaching for the door, unlocking it and turning the handle, clutching the bat tightly with her other hand. 

The door opened and she saw none other, than her father, digging around the bushes to find the fake rock with a spare key in it. She lowered the bat and looked at him, puzzled. "Dad?"


	14. I Can Feel You

"Why are you here? It's almost midnight." 

"I just need to talk to you, and Frank. I'm sorry I came so late, shoulda called." Donald said, shoving his hands in his hoodie pocket. "Can I come in?" 

"I mean, yeah." Nodding, Gee sat the bat down so she could open the front door more, allowing her father to walk in.

She led him to the kitchen, where he and Frank sat at the kitchen table while Gee made them both tea. There was a lot of awkward tension in the room, as expected. Before Frank sat down, he took the ultrasound photos off the wall and tucked them into the waistband of his boxers, shooting her dad a glare. 

Then Gee came over, setting the cups in front of the men and then herself, sitting next to Frank. Her dad was first to speak up, trying to break the awkward tension. "I just want to say that I'm deeply sorry for what I said. I was just confused and worried. You passed out, and then you tell me you're pregnant, I didn't know what to think."

"Dad, I just, you can't be so mean to Frank. He's done nothing -" 

"Gee, I'll handle this." 

"Listen. Just because you and my mom couldn't get it on, doesn't mean you can treat me like shit so I'll get scared and run away. I don't know how many kids I'm having, but I'm never gonna run from that because their grandfather is a flaming-" 

"I'm gonna let that slide. My wife died when Gee and Mikey were still in diapers, I got lonely after a while. And your mother, she was the prettiest damn woman I've ever seen. I just thought - Wait, I thought Gee was pregnant with just one baby?" 

"Yea, then we were told it was-" 

"Frank, why don't we get to bed? It's getting late. Dad, come with me, you can stay in the guest room." Gee interrupted Frank, standing up. 

"What was he saying?" Her dad asked, standing up as well. 

"He doesn't even know. I'm not telling you either. Not until tomorrow." 

"Geralyn Lee Way." Shooting her a stern look, pulling a couple IBC root beer barrels out of his pocket, setting them on the table. 

"Hey, I said I'll tell you tomorrow. And I'm not 8 anymore, you can't just use my full name and float me a couple root beer barrels." She scoffed, grabbing them off the table. "But thank you, I've been craving these."

"But I wanna know how many grand kids I'm having? I know Kristin's pregnant, but -" 

"Welcome to the club." Frank sighed, patting Donald on the back as they walked out of the kitchen. 

Gee led them upstairs, more specifically to the guest room, down the hall from their own. She took sheets out of the cabinet and sat them on the empty bed. She made the bed for Donald, being the nice lady she is. Then once the bed was made, she told him goodnight and then went into her own room, Frank following her. 

Frank took his underwear off and shoved the pictures in his nightstand, then crawled under the covers next to Gee. He shuffled over so he could hold onto Gee, like how they previously were. They talked a little about her dad, but there wasn't much to talk about. They weren't sure if he would leave Frank alone, or what, so they couldn't make any decisions. It would be easier to think in the morning after they slept. 

The morning started off with a strange feeling, like something was going to go wrong. But that was probably just the anxiety talking, like, she had to announce this big thing in front of a lot of people who thought she couldn't have children. But Frank would be beside her, so it couldn't be that bad. 

Speaking of him, normally he slept much later than Gee or anyone elset, he didn't really care about Christmas so what was the point of waking up? Gee wouldn't have cared, but Frank's mom wanted them to go to her house for Christmas. 

She thought of ways to wake him up in a way that would make him excited for the day, maybe she could wake him up with a blowjob, or kiss him awake, but then he'd want to fool around and they couldn't. 

Though, she really didn't need to find an excuse because Frank was already awake. Oddly enough. She smelled gingerbread when she woke up, and pancakes. Maybe he made her breakfast, he probably wrote "how many babies are we having?" on her napkin.

She thought he'd be bringing it upstairs, but then again he probably wanted to eat next to Mama, so after she got changed into a somewhat formal outfit, she went downstairs. And as expected, Frank was sitting at the kitchen table, a stack of pancakes in front of him. Her dad stood at the counter, flipping pancakes. 

"Hey good morning. Your dad is making pancakes. We made cookies, but I wasn't sure how many to decorate so I decorated 10." Frank said, looking up at Gee. "Since it's Christmas, officially, can you tell me how many babies we're having?" 

"Mornin', dad." Completely ignoring Frank's question, she walked over to the counter, grabbing her bottle of prenatal vitamins.

"Hi. Hope you don't mind. When you and Mikey were kids, I'd always make pancakes for you on Christmas, and I haven't been able to do that in years." 

"No that's-" It took her a while to let the scent kick in. Within a matter of a few seconds, she was puking her half chewed vitamins up in the sink. Donald grabbed her hair and held it back, pretty sure she wouldn't enjoy vomit in her hair.

It was kind of pointless though, because as soon as he grabbed onto her hair, she stood up and wiped her mouth, turning the faucet on. "Are you okay?" 

"Fuckin' pancakes. I love them, but the scent is absolutely disgusting." She said, pinching her nose. "I-I think I'm gonna go get a shower." 

"Wait, I wanna come with you. It's Christmas, I wanna give you a present." Winking, he picked his dish up and sat it on the counter. He instantly regretted that as Donald turned around and quirked an eyebrow. "I mean, uh, yeah, I bought you a new comic." 

That man may be old, but he knew what Frank was talking about, then he shot Frank a dirty, disapproving look. 

"I'm leaving now." Was all Gee said, grabbing a sprite from the fridge before walking out of the kitchen.

Frank tried following her, but her dad stopped him. "Not so fast, young man. You might be married, but you aren't going within 15 feet of her if she's naked, while I'm in the house." 

"Yes, sir." Frank gulped, sitting down at the table. 

"Now, get over here and help me with the dishes." 

While upstairs taking a bath, Gee read the pregnancy book that Jamia have her, and about this time in her pregnancy, the babies are about the size of raspberries.

It was quite exciting to think about, despite the fears she once had. The day before she had a flashback of the night of her miscarriage, and now, she's so excited about finding out the babies genders. 

She soon got out of the bath, but as she got out, Frank came storming in, wearing black jeans, dress shoes and a v-neck sweater, panting, making her scream and jump. "Frank! What are you-"

"Your dad left to get the car pulled around, he won't let me near you when you're naked." He panted, hands on his knees. "He wanted me to text you and say we're gonna leave soon. But he's not in here." 

"What? I don't understand." 

"I don't either, but get dressed. He's outside and I'm pretty sure he's gonna come looking for me. I'll be in the car." Then he left, leaving Gee confused.

They were almost 30, it's not like they were still in high school and her dad had to protect her, but she couldn't say anything to him about it. Instead, she shook her head and went out to her room to get dressed. She wore the outfit that Frank bought her before Paris, but with black skinny jeans instead of her legs being bare. 

There was one issue with the outfit, it was a little tighter than it was previously, and her belly stuck out just slightly, but if she wore the jacket it would help cover it. I mean, there wasn't really a point to hiding it because they'd be announcing the pregnancy that day. 

She didn't wear much makeup, just eyeliner and a bit of chap-stick, so getting ready was pretty quick. She locked the door before she left, then walked down the driveway to her dad's vintage black sedan. He never felt the need to get a new car, he'd rather just fix whatever went wrong with this one. 

He made Frank sit in the back so Gee could sit in the front, but she chose to sit in the back with him. Not out of spite, but she just started to feel a little nauseous and Frank always managed to distract her in some way or another. 

Donald asked why she chose to sit back there, and she told him the truth, then he offered her a couple butterscotch candies. That alone was enough to make her puke, but she willed herself not to because that's embarrassing, and she already puked in front of him once. 

What didn't help, was that Frank held the container of gingerbread cookies, right next to her. Every scent in the world seemed to make her nauseous, yet she was starving but her stomach wanted to puke everything up. 

On the way to Linda's house, Donald seemed to hit every pothole in Jersey. As Gee said, anytime anyone asked if she was okay, she wasn't a bitch and could handle this. But as soon as they got out of the car, after 45 minutes of running over potholes and swerving, she hunched over and puked. 

There wasn't anything to puke, so it was just painful dry-heaving. She was fine a few moments later, but her head hurt, nothing a few advils wouldn't fix. Only Linda, Frank Sr, Anthony, his family and Lindsey. 

The house smelled like gingerbread and stuffing, a nice holiday scent. Linda greeted them all when they walked into the house, but Gee felt super awkward around her and Frank's dad. But it was Christmas, she had to look past that. 

"Gee, Frank, neither of you are allowed in the kitchen until dinner is done. We all know what happened Thanksgiving." Linda said, leading them into the living room. 

"That's not fair." Frank huffed dramatically, crossing his arms. 

"Frank, I don't want mashed potatoes in my hair." His dad giggled, tapping Frank on the shoulder. "Your mother told me about the great food fight. Just go sit in the living room as everyone else arrives. I left spiked eggnog and hors d'oeuvres on the table." 

"Fine." Sighing, Frank walked away from his dad, following Gee into the living room. 

He sat the container of cookies on the coffee table, next to the plate of mini pumpkin tarts and dark chocolate covered peanuts. 

Lindsey came into the room, sitting next to Gee on the couch with a huff. "I got kicked out of the kitchen. Why did you have to throw a food fight? Of course I'm gonna join."

"Hey, berry pissmas." Frank said, stopping his conversation with Gee to flip Lindsey off. Gee turned around, smiled and waved. 

"Wait - how did Paris go? You never told me." 

"We went to Disney World, and to these cafe's -" 

"Did you bang her while she wore that sexy maids outfit?" She cut him off, earning a smack to the arm by Gee. "Lindsey, that is so inappropriate. And no, I gave him a blowjob." 

"Gee!" Gasping, Frank reached over and covered her mouth, making her giggle and poke her tongue out. He grimaced at the feeling of her tongue on his palm, instantly retracting his hand and wiping it on his pant leg. 

To make it worse, he noticed that Donald was standing in the doorway, arms crossed as he shook his head, shooting Frank a death glare. Gee turned around and mumbled a "sorry dad.", her cheeks burning red. 

They sat in awkward silence for a good while, or at least Mikey and Kristin showed up. Gee was more than excited to see Mikey, after all it's been nearly a month since she last saw him. Kristin's belly was bigger, and her skin looked like she was glowing. 

Gee, well she was a little jealous, because she felt like absolute shit while Kristin stood there, looking like a goddess with her pregnancy. But in her defense, she wasn't pregnant like how Gee was. She got to feel Kristin's belly, and the baby moving inside, her little feet kicking. 

Frank got to feel the baby too, he was happy, but he was more excited about being able to feel his own babies kicking. It would happen, but not quite yet. Just another week or two and he can feel them. 

Anthony was in the room, and all he did was look over at Gee with a weird look, like he knew something but wasn't going to say. Frank noticed too, and knew exactly what he was talking about, he thought Anthony was bat shit crazy for the little conspiracy theory, but Anthony thought he was dead on correct. Only Gee could tell them if they were right or wrong. 

As the day went on and they talked, another batch of people showed up. One that Gee wouldn't be too fond of. It was Matt, Tyler, Jenna, their daughter Daisy, Corey, James, Evan, and his sister, Jamia. She nearly collapsed when she saw Jamia, but Frank was there to hold her. 

She wore a short skirt, black leggings and heeled boots. Her hair pulled into a neat ponytail, bangs sitting perfectly on her forehead. 

"Merry Christmas." Said Jamia, walking over to hug Frank, making Gee want to rip out her jugular vein and force it down her throat. Gee swore she heard Jamia sniff Frank's cologne, fuckin' creep. She hugged him a little too long, then pulled away to hug Gee. 

It was cold, awkward and short. Jamia pulled away from Gee with an odd look, then looked over at Frank and her face brightened, smiling at the man. They all went into the living room after that, some people sitting on the couch and chairs, while others sat on the floor. 

Jamia insisted on sitting between Gee and Frank, playing with her hair as she talked to Frank, like some boy crazy, bubble gum popping, teenage girl. It really annoyed Gee, like it got to the point where she debated on spilling the news just to drive her away, but she didn't want to do it yet, she needed to find the right time. 

Everyone was in the living room now, drinking champagne and watching Home Alone 2: Lost In New York. Jamia, well, she wasn't, she was trying to get Frank around her finger again, but she couldn't, Frank wasn't stupid. 

She flirted with him a lot, like she'd put her hand on his thigh and giggle at everything he said, even if it wasn't funny. 

In order to get him to be more comfortable around him, she gave him glass after glass of eggnog. Needless to say, it wasn't long before he was smashed and his breath reeked like pumpkin spice and liquor. 

"Does your wife know what we did on this couch?" Giggling, she bit her lip. 

"Jamia, c'mon, that was so long ago." He mumbled, moving his leg so she could get off. "What, 12 years ago?"

He glanced over and noticed Gee slowly sinking down to the floor, then she tapped Jamia's leg. Jamia stopped touching Frank then looked down at Gee, like she was interrupting something. Gee shot Jamia a glance that was threatening, and Jamia hesitantly pulled away from Frank. 

If Jamia wasn't pissed at Gee before, she was now. She knew it was petty to hate Gee for her being happy, but she was blind with lust, she didn't see Frank was so happy with Gee. She at least had some decency left, that she didn't cause a scene in the living room. 

Frank quickly moved away then, he basically sat on Gee's lap on the floor. Her arms were wrapped around his belly and her chin was on his shoulder.

They watched the movie without any interruptions, then after the movie, dinner was ready. They all sat at the dinner table, Frank sat next to Gee, she sat next to Mikey, Kristin, etc. 

Frank chatted with his friends as he ate, Anthony spoke with his parents and husband as his son ate, and Mikey talked with his dad. Gee? Well, she couldn't because she was too busy eating cranberry sauce. 

She felt like she hadn't eaten in decades, and that she could eat everything, but couldn't because that would be a dead give away to her pregnancy. But, that didn't stop her from piling cranberry sauce onto her plate. The sticky, purple sauce seemed like a god send that this point. She didn't touch anything else, maybe a little mashed potatoes. 

No one commented on it, the vast majority of everyone in the room knew she was pregnant, so they didn't care. Though, there was one person who wasn't so mindful. 

"Save some for everyone else. Those aren't just for you." Jamia scoffed, grabbing the bowl of cranberries out of Gees hand. 

Frank was in the middle of a conversation as she said that, instantly stopping his conversation to see what happened. 

He saw Gee, obviously embarrassed and angry. And jamia, she gave Gee this disapproving look. He didn't say anything before grabbing the big, rubber black spoon that was in the bowl of the sticky preserves. 

"Frank, son, what are you doing with that?" His dad asked, noticing him preparing the spoon like a catapult. They all knew this couldn't turn out good, but no one said anything. 

Frank didn't say anything, he just casually flung a glob of cranberry sauce at Jamia, stunning the girl. 

"Frank Iero!" His mother snapped, dropping her fork. "I said no more food fights."

"But she said something mean to my wife." 

"Go to your room and sober up a little. Please. I don't want gravy on Great Grandma's rug, I'll come get you after I clean this up."

"I'm not even drunk."

"What's 3 Times 24?" 

"...I'll be in my room. Gee, come with me." Sighing in defeat, he crumpled the napkin that was on his lap, setting it on the table. Gee wiped her mouth then stood up, evening out her dress. Frank grabbed her hand as they went to walk out of the dining room. 

Linda asked Frank's dad if he could help her, and Anthony pitched in to help as well. Jamia thought with that being taken care of, she could sneak upstairs with Frank. But as she got to the foot of the steps, she felt Linda grab onto the collar of her shirt, pulling her back.

She dragged her into the living room, closing the door behind her. Jamia tried apologizing, but Linda was so fed up with what she's been doing to Frank, and Gee, yeah Frank may have mentioned all the shit she's been doing.

As soon as those doors closed, Linda yelled. Not in English, but in fluent Italian. Jamia had no clue what Linda was saying, so she stood there in silence, stiff as a board.

Her face turned red from all the yelling. Jamia was scared to say the least, she didn't know what she was saying, but there was no way it could be good. After she stopped yelling, she huffed and stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind her. 

Jamia didn't want to upset her anymore, or anyone for that matter, so she just sat on the couch, keeping to herself. 

Meanwhile upstairs, Frank laid on his old bed, hand draped over his stomach as he stared at the posters on his ceiling. Gee leaned against his dresser, one hand on her belly and the other on the wooden surface. 

His room was just the way he left it, riddled with band posters, cd's and cassette tapes on the floor, his bed unmade and everything reeking of weed and cigarettes. His walls were painted a navy blue and his floors were hardwood, making the number of times he's fallen on or smashed glasses or plates on them, uncountable. 

She kept feeling weird butterflies, like that one night in the car. She just assumed that it was related to what happened with Jamia, but she would ask Kristin if she ever felt like that early on in her pregnancy, after she told everyone that she was pregnant, of course.

"Why did Evan bring her? She just tried to get some of my dick." 

"I don't know, but why does she think that bringing up meaningless memories from high school, will make you fall in love with her?"

"Fuck, we didn't even have sex! Sure, I went down on her a couple times and she gave me a blowjob or two. But she always said I wasn't going fast enough, or she would always pull off before I came. I don't want her mouth near my dick, or my mouth near her ----" 

"We just ate, I don't feel like puking cranberry sauce everywhere." Groaning, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath. 

"Hey, you're okay." He said, sitting up and reaching out for her arms. He grabbed her hands and pulled her close to him. Then he leaned over to kiss her belly, his hands moving to her hips. "Don't make mommy sick, okay? I don't know how many of you are in there. But I love all of you." 

Gee's heart fluttered, her eyes filled with love as Frank talked to the babies. They probably didn't have ears yet, but it was still cute. And when Frank said that, Gee could feel the butterflies again. Like more and a little stronger. 

Frank continued to hold her belly, his head resting against the bump. He wanted to hear or feel the babies move, after feeling Kristin's baby. 

After a short few moments, Linda came up. She said that it was cleaned up downstairs, and that they're gonna lighten the mood by playing charades. She thought it was cute, seeing Frank holding Gee's belly, It was definitely something that would bring her mood up.

Gee thought of something. She could announce this in the form of charades. She wasn't quite sure how to do it, but she would think of something. Franks idea of the cookies, wasn't very practical for the situation, but she'd sill give him credit for it. 

They both went back downstairs, each giving Jamia odd looks as they passed her by. Linda sat out a bowl filled with pieces of paper with different tropics for the game. It was tradition that Anthony went first, since he was the older twin. Frank always insisted that it didn't matter, but those couple minutes apparently did. 

He took a paper from the bowl and thought of a way to act it out, then he shoved it in his pocket and laid on the floor, arms to his side. No one had a clue what he tried to be, Frank thought he was a piece of shit, Gee thought a piece of wood, but those were wrong, oddly. 

But then Kyle spoke up. He stood up, pointed at Anthony and said "A piece of cheese!" And holy shit, he was right. Everyone looked at Kyle with a weird look, stunned that a 3 year old, could guess that. 

Next it was Frank's turn. His word was a little too coincidental for the situation. He was a little too excited for this. He stood to his side, stuck his stomach out and pointed to it. 

Then he pointed to Gee, accidentally. Kristin was sitting right next to her, so everyone who didn't know Gee was pregnant, assumed he was pointing to Kristin. "Pregnant!" Kristin said, earning a nod from Frank. 

After Frank, it was random. Gee insisted that she would go last, so everyone else in the room took their turn. Then finally, it was her turn. She didn't pick out a piece of paper, leaving everyone confused.

She took her jacket off, pointed to her stomach, then to the container of cookies and held up a couple fingers. 

"Three cookies? You ate three cookies?" Frank said, glancing at the container of cookies. 

"Three bowls of cranberry sauce?" Linda suggested, as she shook her head no at Frank.

Again, she shook her head. They all tried guessing what on earth she meant, but no one could guess it right. Their guesses were so off. Milo suggested she was probed by three aliens, another thought she slept with three people before she met Frank, or she had three stomachs. 

"Gee, we all love you, but you're making absolutely no sense." Frank's dad had said at one point, chuckling a little.

Since her plan wasn't working, making her she seem crazy, she gave up on it. 

"Guys, no. I wasn't probed by three aliens, or ate three of anything. I'm pregnant with triplets." As she said that, it felt like a great weight off her shoulders. Frank sat there, along with everyone else, shocked. 

"I fucking knew it!" Anthony was the first to say anything, jumping off the couch and grabbing the collar of Frank's shirt. "I told you, dipshit. But no you insisted I was insane. Pay up."

"Wait, you made a bet on my pregnancy?"

"He-He tried saying you weren't pregnant with twins." Stuttering, Frank pushed Anthony away and slowly moved towards Gee. As he got closer, Gee could see the tears in his eyes. "A-Are you really pregnant with triplets?"

"Yes. I am!" Nodding, she reached into her jacket pocket and pulled out a photo of the ultrasound, handing Frank the photo of the three growing babies. He cupped her face and kissed all over her face, starting on her nose, her forehead and cheeks, then her lips. 

It was only a matter of seconds before everything went crazy, everyone rushed over to hug Gee, almost crushing the poor woman. Frank had his hands on her belly as everyone hugged her. 

Jamia, well she was the only one who stayed on the couch, her body boiled over with envy and anger, seemingly paralyzing her. "So, did you actually have a miscarriage, or was that a lie like the twins?" 

"Jamia!" Evan gasped, looking over at her. His face burned red with embarrassment, wanting his sister to just shut the hell up. "I'm so sorry, Gee-" 

"You had a miscarriage? What?" Linda asked, pulling away from Gee. She looked into her eyes with worry. "When did this happen?"

"Gee, you don't have to tell anyone." Frank said, pulling Gee closer to him. "Jamia, get the fuck out of this house. Who the hell invited you? All you've done is-" 

"It's true." Gee interrupted him, pulling away from him and escaping the crowd of people. "We never told anyone about this, only my dad, Mikey, and Anthony knew. Three years ago, I got pregnant, but I-I didn't know I was pregnant. Then one night, I just, I-I thought it was my, ya know. But I knew, deep down, it wasn't that. So, I went to the hospital, and they told me I had a miscarriage, and couldn't have kids because my hormones weren't strong enough to keep a baby alive. But now, I'm on estrogen shots, so I can keep my three babies alive. The twins weren't a lie, my doctor mixed up my ultrasound with another lady's." 

Within a couple of seconds, Linda walked away from Gee and over to Jamia. She looked her dead in the eyes and tried speaking in the most calm tone. "No one messes with my family. Now get out of my house."

Jamia looked absolutely terrified of Linda, yet she wouldn't move. Frank's dad and Anthony came around, both cracking their knuckles and shooting Jamia looks. She gulped and looked behind Linda, hoping Frank would try and defend her. But he didn't, he wouldn't defend her. 

"Fuck you!" Gee snapped, tears in her eyes. Her heart still ached, this happy moment ruined by having to reminisce on that horrible time, and it was all Jamia's fault.

She went to charge at Jamia, her arms out and ready to choke her. But Frank picked her up from behind, restraining her arms, but she continued to kick her legs and scream at Jamia. "Why, you stuck-up, half-witted, scruffy-looking, nerf-herder!"

Milo didn't want Kyle to hear all this yelling, so he quickly covered the boy's ears. He was glad he did it then, because Gee started screaming profanities at Jamia as Linda dragged her and Evan out of the room. Her face turned red from the yelling and her voice cracked. Evan didn't do anything, but he was Jamia's brother, and she wanted no Nestor's in the house. 

She said things that she would never, ever say, and she wasn't a violent person either, but Jamia, well she pushed Gee too far this time. 

As soon as they heard the front door close, they all took a deep breath. Frank gently sat Gee back down and hugged her, making sure she was okay. She was trembling, as was himself, everyone else was just confused, angry and irritated.

This was the first time Gee had ever spoken about it out loud, and hearing it again made the memories flood back in. Sure, it was a few years ago, but it still hurt just as bad when you've never said it out loud. 

Jamia wasn't a bad person, she just couldn't stomach the idea of Frank being with another lady, let alone getting her pregnant with triplets. But they weren't gonna let that ruin their holiday, enough has happened for one day. 

"Now." Linda sighed, evening out her sweater. "Let's open presents." She figured that opening gifts, would be a good way to lighten the mood and move past what just happened. Everyone seemed to agree with this. 

"That sounds like a good idea." Frank Sr. said, patting Linda on the back. "I will go upstairs and get the couple from upstairs."

"Be gentle with the biggest one, keep it still as you're bringing it down. Everyone else, come sit on the floor. It'll be easier to hand out gifts."

The biggest one, meaning the one Gee dropped off just days prior. Linda safely put the dog in the box, only closing it before it was time to open it. But she did poke air-holes in the side so the poor thing could breathe. Though before Frank left, Linda told him to just let the gift out, because she would rather let Gee have him open it on Christmas Day, rather than Christmas Eve. 

Downstairs, Linda passed out gifts one by one. Kyle of course had the biggest pile, while all the adults had maybe four gifts. She even bought gifts for the unborn babies. There were only two, instead of four because she didn't know about the triplets, but she could easily fix it. 

Gee wasn't real into the gift opening, her mind was still boggling on what happened with Jamia. But Linda's gift would quickly change that. 

It was a little pack of Frank's baby pictures. From the moment he was born, up until he was in about 1st grade. The photos made her heart flutter, making her smile subconsciously. 

Linda and Frank Sr. Also gave her a $25 Starbucks gift card and a $50 gift card to some maternity clothing store in the mall. There was also a picture frame that said "baby's first picture" with footprints on either side. 

Frank got a hoodie that had the Misfits logo on the front, a pair of finger less skeleton gloves, a party-sized bag of skittles, and a Christmas card signed with "xoMom & Dad." Even though it wasn't technically for him, there was a little bonnet and pair of socks, the bonnet having "Iero" knitted onto the front. 

He was more excited than anything for his babies to wear them, of course Gee was too, but her heart was still a little heavy. Kristin helped distract her from that, with some exhilarating information. As Frank went to the bathroom, they got to talking about her pregnancy, and if she had any questions she could ask her. 

She figured this would be the best time to ask about the butterflies, even though it may not be anything, it doesn't hurt to ask. 

"So um..at random times, I'll feel like, butterflies. It's nothing, but I'm never nervous or anything." 

"Oh, that just means your baby--or babies are moving around a little. Nothing bad." She shrugged it off as if it wasn't a big deal, but holy shit, this was a huge deal for Gee. Her babies are moving! 

After having to explain less fortunate events, the babies didn't feel real. As strange as it sounds, her mind was thrown off from reality. But this was the perfect way to get her mind back on track. 

"They're..what? Are you serious-" 

"Yes. Little Rowan moves around a lot, so i'm positive." 

"Oh, um. Excuse me for a minute." Gee was quick to get up, she sat her cup of tea down and ran out of the room. 

Frank was in the upstairs bathroom because he felt that it had the softest toilet paper, and he didn't want to be in a bad mood because of shitty toilet paper. As she reached the top of the steps, she saw that Frank was just coming out of the bathroom, turning the light off. 

She quickly ran towards him, pulling him into a tight hug. He noticed her crying a little, to which he misunderstood as sadness after previous events. "Are you-" 

"T-The butterflies, Frank, the butterflies-" 

"What about them? Gee, you're crying." 

"They- They mean that the babies are moving! I-I've felt them move, Frank!" She looked up at him, her hazel eyes sparkling with joy. 

"Really?" His own beginning to sparkle, a smile being forced onto his face. She nodded, her hands cupping his face, kissing his lips. He kissed her back before dropping to his knees, being faced with her belly, placing his hands on the bump.

"Okay." Taking a deep breath, he blinked his eyes a couple times, balancing out his vision. "Daddy wants to feel you move." 

I woke up thinking you were still here  
My hands shaking with regret  
I've held this dream for such a long long time  
And I wanna get up  
To the rhythm of a wild, to the rhythm of a wild heart  
That beats, that beats like a rolling drum


	15. That One Party

"After you, my lady, and three sons." Frank said, holding the diner's door open for Gee, and her father. She snickered and walked in, Frank immediately stood behind her, his hands held onto her belly.

After Kristin told her that the strange butterflies meant the babies were moving inside her, Frank was destined to feel them move. Even though the movements weren't strong enough for him to feel from the outside, he still wanted to try and feel them.

When they got back from Linda's, they went upstairs, took a bubble bath together, as desired by Frank. 

Donald stayed over again that night, as insisted by Gee that he did. It was still Christmas, after all. But that kinda backfired on her end, as she and Frank always had sex the night between Christmas Eve, and Christmas Day.

Although they could just make up for it later, like when Donald would go back to his house.

That night, after they got ready for bed, they laid in bed, cuddled as Gee read a couple of pages from her book. Frank found it pretty cool that she had three cherries growing in her, not literally, it was just the size of the babies. But Gee didn't sleep that night, maybe for about an hour she did, but a nightmare woke her up.

Though, she couldn't remember what happened, she just knew it was something bad. 

She was too scared to go back to sleep, instead she just went into the bathroom, wiped her face with cold water, as a way to feel somewhat back in touch with the real world. 

The day felt thrown off to her, maybe from the lack of sleep. Throughout the week, she kept having strange nightmares, consisting of flashes of images she couldn't identify.

Christmas Day was a good day in the house, Frank got to open his present from Gee, being the dog she adopted. He was like a little kid, he tackled Gee on the floor, kissed all over her face and mumbled about a dozen "I love you's.

The day was December 30th. A week had passed since Christmas. While Frank's excitement grew, Gee's confusion reached an all-time high. He's been disappearing again, often going out for days at a time with his friends, he's also been telling Anthony and his parents to come to the house so they can help pack up all their stuff. She thought they were moving in a month or two, but the stuff Linda and them packed up, was useless stuff.

She still couldn't find her clothes, and anytime Frank was asked about it, he'd get all weird and change the conversation. The suitcases were gone, too. And instead of keeping her locked out of her accounts, he took her phone.

"Welcome to the Waffle Spot, my name is Jamie, and I'll be your server today. Can I start you off with some drinks?" A waitress said as she escorted them to a table.

"Coffee for the three of us, thanks." Donald said, fiddling with a packet of white sugar, then once she left, he continued on with his conversation with Gee.

"Greedo shot first, I don't know what moron thinks Han did."

"Um, dad." Murmuring, Gee subtly pointed to Frank as he played on his phone.

He was playing angry birds, quite bored without food in front of his face. It was hard playing with only one hand, as the other stayed on Gee's tummy.

Donald thought it was a bit odd that he's been touching her belly a lot, but he remembered what it was like when his late wife was pregnant. I guess when you see someone touching your daughter, the way you touched your wife, is a teeny bit strange.

Jamie came around a minute later, with three cups of hot coffee on a tray and a little container of creamer packets. She sat the mugs down then pulled out her notepad and a pencil. "Here you go, have you decided on what you want to order?"

Donald was first to order, he kept his order short and simple. A couple banana nut waffles with egg whites, nothing special. Then it was Frank's turn. He got both pancakes and waffles, unable to choose just one kind Gee, well she got pancakes, and a lot of them. Yeah, she puked from the smell of them yesterday, but today she felt fine.

She was a little disappointed they didn't have any cranberry pancakes, they did have cranberry juice, though. When the waitress left again, their conversation resumed, but on a different topic.

"So, Mr. Way, are you busy tomorrow night?"

"I suppose. But Gee already said that you guys weren't doing anything."

"Correction she isn't doing anything. I am, though. And I'd really appreciate it if you'd come. I'll text you the details."

"What is it? Gee, what is he doing?"

"I don't know, dad. He's been hinting about this party for weeks and quite frankly, i'm going insane trying to figure it out."Sighing, she took a sip out of her coffee, inhaling the strong aroma."Hey speaking of which, did you change my twitter password? I can't log in."

"Yea, I did." He shrugged it off like it wasn't a big deal, like it was normal for him to change her passwords. "And your Instagram account."

"Why? Frank, there are pictures of cats I need to see."

"I'll be back." He was quick to avoid the question, shoving his phone into his pocket. He kissed her head before scurrying off to the bathroom.

A few moments after Frank left for the bathroom, Donald's phone went off. It was a text from Frank, of course. It was an address, time and note, saying to not tell Gee and a brief description of what it was, as it was a surprise he's been trying to hide.

"What was that?"

"Oh just...Mikey, he told me that uh, Kristin, she and him are setting up the nursery for Rowan."He figured since Gee wants him to be nicer to Frank, he should at least keep this from her until Frank's ready to tell-show her.

He came back out shortly, right when all their food came out and was sat on table. Donald gave him a weird look or two.

What 30 year old man could do this? He thought. Especially when he's about to be the father of triplets, there's no way he could make this work. But then again, he had no idea what Frank was capable of.

As they all ate, It wasn't very eventful, I mean, how eventful can eating breakfast be? Frank had brought up the fact they were moving, and of course, Donald wasn't happy. He asked a billion questions about it, like where they were moving, and why.

"It's just a little too big for raising three kids, they'll get lost. Plus it'll be hard to chase them around."

"Where are you moving?"

"Frank and I originally looked for places in New York, or Los Angeles, but we're gonna stay in Jersey. It's a house in Belleville, I think..."She lost her train of thought, she looked over and saw Frank push the plate of his food away from him, sighing."Babe, is something wrong?"

"I fucking- nothing. Can I steal some of your pancakes?"

"Yea, of course. Is it because of the toothpicks?"Sliding her plate between the two, looking over at the numerous wooden sticks in his breakfast. He absolutely hated toothpicks, wooden straws, or anything like that. It was like nails on a chalkboard for him. Even the thought of them would drive him crazy.

Anyhow, as they continued eating, Donald asked how she got pregnant with triplets, when Anthony and Frank are twins. Neither of them wanted to bring the topic of miscarriages up, especially during breakfast. Rather than explaining, Gee cut to a different topic, her mood instantly shifting, as did Frank's.

The rest of the breakfast was a little uncomfortable, the topic itself was an awkward one, considering it happened 30 years ago, and shouldn't be brought up. The conversation was small talk, the awkward tension wavered. Luckily, a phone-call from their realtor, Holly saved the day. She told Frank that they could come to the house and pick something up, Gee wasn't sure of what, though.

-

"That brings us to the end of the tour. This is my personal favorite part of the house. It's a nice little entertainment area." Holly explained, dressed in her pant-suit as she carried around a file, containing all the papers a client would need to sign if they wanted to buy the home.

"This house is perfect. Don't you think, babe?"

"I think this room would be perfect for my art room, and it's like a double room, so your office can be-damn." Her phone vibrated in her pocket, she mumbled an apology and went over to the terrace, connected to one of the two office spaces.

The terrace, with a view that looked over Jersey and enough room for a table, plant and a chair or two. If either of them looked hard enough, they could see faint lights of the rides at the boardwalk, a place that's entirely important to them.

"I'm terribly sorry, Mr. Iero, I have to get going." Holly smiled a toothsome grin as she reached into her pocket, pulled out a pair of shiny, silver keys and handed them over to Frank. "I hope you enjoy your new home. Here are your keys."

He mouthed a thank you, accepting the keys, they were slid into the pocket of his jeans. As she left, Frank strolled over to the terrace, his hands were placed on her hips, her hands fitting over his. A sigh of warmth left her mouth, gazing off into the sunset.

"Hey, who was on the phone?" He had asked, resting his chin on her shoulder. 

"It was Kelly, my agent. She said she scheduled a meeting for me, in New York with the head directors at D.C. Ya know. This might be the one. I don't want to get my faith up too high, though."

"If they say no, they'll be turning away one of the best comic book writers ever. I believe in you, Gee. You're so talented at many things, like they can go fuck themselves for all I care."

"I've just, I've tried for so long to get signed somewhere. I'm still gonna look, if they say no, I've dreamed of this since I was nine, I can't let this go so easily. I'll stay in Jersey, she told me I can do meetings over this thing called Skype, or whatever, but I'm worried that I'll let you down, like if I don't get the job."

"Listen, there are things I can't do, like, become a mailman, or get paid to watch the Walking Dead with you, but I can tell you that, I know you're gonna be the new face of D.C. comics. I have your back in anything and everything, Gee. Even if you don't get the job, nothing will change."While his voice was soft and reassuring, his eyes gave a stern look.

She felt better, even though he's told her this a million times over the years, it was just nice to have reassurance in times like this. " You know, I think this would be a wonderful place to raise our little family. Three babies, two dogs, and a cat,"

"I'm really glad you think so, because it's ours."

"What--when did this happen?" A gasp left her mouth, her figure turned around to face Frank.

"When you and my dad were at your doctors appointment, I went and checked the house out, and kinda signed the papers. But when she called, like when we were at the Waffle Spot, she said everything went well, and we could come to get our keys. Gee, we own a house!"

"I-I don't know what to say, holy shit."

"Don't say anything. Because a couple of dudes are dropping some of our boxes off."

"Is this why you wanted to have sex in every room last night? I mean, I'm not complaining, it was a lot of sex."She chuckled, her eyes gleaming with furor. 

"I mean, yeah. It was pretty damn fun, though. That fucking soap dish."

"To be fair, it was loose. But I have another surprise. It's in the nursery, or the soon to be." He said, his hand grabbed hers.

She went to question it, but how bad could it be? Unless it has five dogs in there that he just adopted, but he would definitely tell her if he adopted more pets. He dragged her through the house, up the stairs and to what room would soon be a nursery. Buckets of paint sat on the floor, along with various paintbrushes and rollers. The floor was protected by a sheet of plastic, taped down.

"Since the walls are already painted this navy blue, I thought we could add some decorations to the walls. Like before the movers bring our furniture."

"Don't tell me you already ordered their cribs, Frank. How did we even afford this?"

"....they're all black. And each of them has changing tables attached to them. I also bought Sweet-pea, Mitch, and Mama a basket for their room, just so our babies don't get lonely. And, after I quit my job, or Michael bought me out, I got this massive settlement."He said as he took his hoodie off, it flung past Gee and into the hall."So, what'll it be, Way? You want to help me paint shit on the wall?"

"Pass me a paintbrush." She nodded at him, flashing a small smile, her jacket and yellow converse joined the pile in the hall.

They painted anything on the walls, characters from Star Wars, their pets, you name it. It was like a big canvas, basically. A playlist blared from Frank's phone as they painted, a sweet melody of 80's and 90's punk rock, echoed through the empty home.

An hour or two passed before there was a knock at the door, the movers had arrived with a truck full of the couple's belongings. Gee answered the door, but she forgot that she had rubbed her face, and a little bit of paint was on her hand, so she had black and dark green streaks on her chin.

She told them just to put the boxes in the living room, and that she and Frank would organize them later on. The men were very friendly, they complimented the music that played, their home and the paintings on the wall.

Their couch, chairs, and dining room table were also brought in, as they were much smaller and the last things that could fit inside their truck. After they left, and Frank paid them for their time, Gee suggested that after she got cleaned up, she would go and get them some food from a burger place.

Of course, he was all for the idea. How could you turn down food? So, she washed the paint of her face, hands, and neck before she left the home. She got into her red corvette, flipped her shades on and drove off.

Before she went to get food, she had run by their old home and grabbed the most important thing, their coffee maker. It was in a box on the kitchen counter, neatly packed for the movers. The house seemed so dull and lifeless, like it's been abandoned for years. Only 12 hours prior, it was perfect, but then Frank sent his family to suck the life out of it. 

Their go-to burger place, was just down the road from their new house, while back in the other, it was a good 20 minute commute. A short while later, she came back to the home, a bag full of veggie burgers, half cut fries and onion rings, and two Diet Cokes.

The sun was gone by the time she got home, and it was only 5:30 in the afternoon. But you know, daylight savings time. Frank had turned the lights on in the home, all the windows glowing a warm orange.

"Frank, babe. I'm home."She announced as she walked into the house, kicking her muddy, snowy shoes off. She sat the coffee machine down by the door.

Then she heard footsteps running around upstairs, then coming down the stairs. He had this child-like grin on his face, obviously excited about something.

"Gee! Hi."He kissed her lips, then snatched the bag of food from her hand."So, I got a text and the party is on! Like, literally everything is taken care of, and all we have to do is show up."

"Sounds like you're having a good day." A giggle left her lips as she followed Frank into the kitchen, he sat the bag on the counter, then went to reach for plates in the cabinet. "Fuck, we don't even have plates."

"Speaking of plates, who's watching the pets? The pups and Mitch were just roaming around, poor things."

"Anthony offered to look after them until we get back, but he's gonna bring them tomorrow, then he's gonna stay with mom and come around to check on the pets."

"Wait, back from-."

"--you know what, I'm kind of horny, do you want to go upstairs and fuck?" He interrupted her, dipping two of his fries into a glob of ketchup, shoving them in his mouth. "We haven't had sex in such a long time, and my dick, he misses it."

"We just had sex last night, though. Plus we don't have curtains, yet. Our neighbors can easily look in and see us."She said, her hands grabbed her container of onion rings, looping one around her index finger."And my body, in like, places, is sorta sore, so I don't think we can do very much."

"I mean, maybe there's something else we can try. But if you don't want to that's cool, I don't want to like, pressure you."

"What is it, babe?"

// smut // 

"We did it a couple times, like when you'd be on your-- just, it's easier for me to show you, than to explain." He suddenly got cold feet, even though they've done this before. He was always awkward talking about sex, in fear that she'd think it was weird, but that's never happened. "Could you maybe, get on your knees? I-I have to get something."

"You know I like giving you blow-jobs. Wait, that's what we're doing, right?"

He shook his head, motioned for her to follow him into the living room. He looked through the various boxes on the ground, pulling out one that said "Bedroom shit.Five'. His hands tore off the packing tape, then threw away the bubble wrap and pulled out a box. "Like, I still want you to feel good too, so uh, you can use this. It's kinda something I use, a lot. It feels so good on my dick, so like, I thought it would feel good on you." 

Frank handed her the box, biting his lip in anticipation. Her gaze flickered down, figure instantly filling with excitement. "Yes, a thousand times, yes." 

"Really?" Voice squeaked with excitement, the gleam in his eye sparkled. She bit her lip in response, reaching one hand down to undo the belt. "Fuck, okay, I'm gonna go get a towel. We don't want to ruin our new floors." 

"Wait I didn't say yes to that. Frank, you know how like, I feel about that." 

"But, it makes me feel good because you just had an amazing orgasm." He shrugged, his hand cupped her cheek in a soothing way. His thumb stroked the soft skin. He kissed her lips, his hand moved to under her chin, tilting up with his index finger and thumb. His other hand went down to the small of her back, then he slowly trailed it down to her hip. 

She dropped the box between herself and Frank, then her hands were placed on his shoulders. They embraced their lips, hands caressed one-another. Frank moved his lips down to her neck, he pecked, grazed his teeth against and left darkening marks on her skin. Small whimpers left her mouth, right when Frank found the most sensitive area on her skin.

Gee felt his hips against her thigh, slowly hardening. That alone, just the feeling of Frank getting aroused, made her blood boil. He pulled back from her, allowing her to do the same as he did. But, he told her that to leave them below his neck, so they aren't easily visible. But, she simply said that she wanted to see the marks and did the complete opposite of what he wanted. 

Hickeys were left going down his neck, on his scorpion tattoo, and on his Adam's apple. Her teeth grazed the bruises, a shiver being sent down his spine. A hand was moved from her hip, and into her jeans, then into her underwear. 

She gasped as she felt Frank's cold hand, press against her, rubbing back and forth. But that didn't last long, as Frank asked her to remove her clothes, and get down on her knees. Her jeans, sweater, bra, and, matching pastel pink boxers were tossed into a pile, Frank's clothing joining as well. 

He carefully took the toy from the box, handed it to her, and grabbed a bottle of cherry vanilla flavored lube. His legs were on either side of her thighs, his dick throbbing between his legs.

"Fuck."Frank growled, squirting a handful of lube into his hand. He jacked himself a couple times, slicking himself up. He squeezed some onto Gee's boobs, then the bottle was tossed to the side. 

"What are you?"She trailed off, as Frank grabbed her boobs, traced around her nipples with the tip of his cock. "Go on, baby, use the toy. Want to see you. " He said at almost a whine, his bottom lip pouted out slightly. 

With a quick nod, Gee grabbed the black studded wand, turned it on, and brought it down between her legs. A whine escaped her mouth, and her legs jolted as she felt the cool, slick silicone press against her clit, the great vibrations stimulating the right nerves.

"That's it. Yeah."Frank looked down, pulled his hips away to see what was going on, his arousal multiplying at the sight. He leaned down to clash his lips against hers, his hips slowly moved in between her breasts. He pushed her tits together as he slid his dick between them, grunting as the mounds of flesh enveloped his shaft. 

He pulled his hips back, just to thrust them forward. The grip on her beasts tightened, his thumbs circled around her nipples. The tip of his cock protruded from the seam of her breasts, slick with pre-cum, and lube. 

It was an odd sensation to the lady, but that wasn't on the top of her mind, as her own pleasure pulsated through her body. She moved the wand in circles around her cunt, whimpering. 

Frank's eyes looked over her, savoring in the sight below him. The way she bit her lip softly when the pleasure would spark, the sounds she made, or the way her dark eyes looked up at him when he'd groan, moan, or whisper something that was sexual. "You're so fucking beautiful, babe." 

"I love you, fuck," She groaned, her nails dug into the skin of his thigh, the pleasure rocking through her body, every nerve in her body feeling like with a single touch, they'd explode into a million pieces. 

As the boob-fucking and self-pleasuring contained on, their orgasms crashed through their bodies. All of the adrenaline and dopamine coursed through Frank's veins, all leading down between his legs, mixing together and shooting out through his dick, the thick, white ropes landed on her chest, each opaque line landing in a different spot. 

Groans spilled from his mouth as he helped himself through his orgasm, the pleasure caused a euphoric feeling to run through his body, it made his thighs shake and toes curl, beads of sweat fell from his nose and onto her chest. 

He looked beautiful, like one of those porn stars who'd exaggerate their orgasms and noises for the video, but he wasn't, he was just naturally loud in bed. 

That was all Gee needed to topple over the edge, she rubbed her clit against the black toy. Her climax quickly crept up on her, her hips shuttered as every muscle went limp. The grip on Frank's thigh broke, making her fall back, head hitting the hardwood floor. 

"Frank, holy shit, I-I'm coming,"She rambled on as her hips bucked up, thumb pressing a button to turn the vibrations to a higher setting. 

Frank keeled down beside her, he wrapped his hand around the silicone and pressed it harder against her, he kissed her cheek softly, whispering softly into her ear as she came. She looked him in the eyes, her face scrunched up in pleasure. 

Then, he pulled it away, he heard her scream as a hand went between her legs, her face burned red, screaming a "No."as she shook her head. While she was embarrassed, Frank was bubbling over with pride as he turned the toy off.

// end of smut//

It was a little awkward as they got dressed, and when they finished eating their cold food. Frank was being annoying, he sat on her lap and ate his food, she wasn't mad about that, but when a pickle, drenched in mayonnaise, fell from his burger and onto her crotch, she was a little annoyed. 

Since they didn't have their bed yet, Frank suggested they made a fort in their room. He took the chairs from the dining room set, a sheet and their comforter from a box, and cushions from their couch.

After changing into pajamas, they laid in the fort, the usual position where Frank had his head on her chest, while his hands held onto her belly. Subconsciously, she traced circles on his back as they talked about things. 

Frank brought up the topic of her nightmare, he thought that it was the reason why she wasn't sleeping, or why she was scared of the dark all of a sudden. 

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"It was just a bad dream, that's all."

"You haven't slept all week, unless all the lights were on."

"I promise, I'll be okay." She tried reassuring him, but he wasn't convinced. She knew that, too, she was a bad liar. 

"Can you tell me what happened, at least?"

"I don't really know what they were, just weird images that scared the shit out of me." 

"Teenagers?" 

She snorted at that, giggling.

It was no secret teenagers scared the shit out of her, they were just so violent. One time on a subway trip to school, a group of teenagers fought, and blasted their music, she was actually terrified that she would be killed. 

That was also the reason why she never took subways, instead, she either took trains, or walked. 

The conversation switched to the New Years party, and that even though Gee had no clue what was happening, she still supported him. 

"Ya know, tomorrow's New Years and I just wanted to tell you, that whatever you're planning to do, I support it. Even if it's at a strip club, and you're one of the strippers, I'll still support it. Plus, I'd kill to see you in lingerie." 

"My ass looks great in black lace, just saying." He kissed her cheek as they snuggled under the blanket, both of his hands wrapped around her. 

"Can I ask, how did you hide the fact you bought a fucking house? I would get it, if it was a dog or something, but a house?"

"Simple, I hide all of the mail, unless it's important to you, like a new comic." 

"Speaking of mail, did you order that other..thing?"

"Why don't you get some sleep, babe? You must be exhausted."He sighed, shuffling to get comfortable."And yes, I did, it's in my bag." 

"Good."She mumbled, her eyes closed as her hand rested on top of Frank's. 

As they relaxed and tried to sleep, Frank began humming an unfamiliar tune, his fingers tapped on her belly along with his hums. She wanted to ask what it was, but she was too tired to say anything. 

That night, she slept peacefully. She felt safe in Frank's grasp, knowing that she couldn't have any nightmares when his warmth protected her, but he left throughout the night to pee, she knew because one, the fort felt cold and a loud crashing echoed through the house. 

Since it was their first night in the house, neither of them knew the layout very well. He was so used to their old house, that he walked into a closet and banged his head on the bar. He was fine, just confused and groggy.

Though when he got back into bed, he was extremely irritated, but Gee rolled around, kissed his forehead and stroked his cheek. 

The next morning came about, the bright sun shining through their blindless windows. Birds could be heard chirping, along with the howling wind. 

Her eyes blinked a couple of times to see that Frank wasn't in the bed, though there was a note on his pillow. It had her name written on the front, as well as a heart or two. A box was sitting on his side as well, but she read the note first. 

"Good morning! I'm out with a couple of buddies of mine, but I left breakfast for you on the counter. I won't be back tonight, but neither will you. Meet me at the place where we saw Against Me! At 5:30 P.M. - XoFrnk / XoDad

P.S - Take a cab." 

Against Me! Was the first concert they saw together, but they got kicked out after trying to buy alcohol underage, totally worth it, though. 

She sat the note down and opened the box. It contained a new pair of lemon yellow converse underneath a mound of black tissue paper. Then she got out of the fort, making her way down to the kitchen. 

On the counter, sat a bowl of Lucky Charms, already poured with a carton of almond milk next to it. She wasn't sure what time Frank left, because the cereal tasted pretty stale and the milk was warm, but it was the thought that counts. 

As she washed the bowl, Frank sent her a text. "I'm assuming you're awake now. I just wanted to say I love you, and i hope you enjoy the party tonight. I won't be able to talk on the phone, so I'm sending you this so you aren't worried. I left the baby book in the bathroom, I was reading it earlier. Love you xo." 

Her heart warmed at the text, but she also felt a little bit puzzled at the fact he couldn't talk on the phone, maybe all her questions would be answered later on at this party he's been going on and on about. 

It was already around 2:30, as she woke up later than usual. So, she figured that it would be a good time to shower and get herself ready. 

When she took her clothes off, she noticed that her belly popped. Like it actually looked like a smaller version of a pregnant woman's belly. It shocked her a little because it was not like this last night, but she was excited. 

Though, she kinda got a little sad when she saw faint stretch marks peeking on her skin, but that was normal in pregnancy.

After her shower, she went into their bedroom to get dressed. She thought a pair of ripped black jeans, a batman sweater, a leather jacket, and the yellow converse would do the trick, because she didn't feel like putting an actual outfit together, they were just items scattered on the floor. 

She didn't even bother brushing her hair, instead she topped the outfit off with a black beret, one that they bought from Paris. Maybe it didn't match, but fashion wasn't something she really cared about. 

Time passed rather slowly that afternoon, minutes moved like molasses. She stayed in the living room, leaning against the half-put together couch as she read the book, not finding it as interesting as it was. Possibly because she's used to the concept at this point.

The movers never showed up, as Frank said they would. But it was New Years Eve after all, they'll probably be there the day after the next. 

After two chapters of the book, it was finally Five o'clock, meaning that she could leave for Frank's shindig.

A Uber pulled in front of their house, honking its horn as a signal. She locked the front door, tucked her book underneath her arm and bolted out the door. 

She sat in the back, as the driver put the destination in the GPS. Owl city played from the radio, the odd tune blaring through the speakers. 

The conversation was kept to a minimum, as Gee was more focused on reading.

Traffic was absolutely awful that night. They seemed to have hit every red light in Jersey. They didn't get to the actual bar until quarter till six.

She thanked him for the ride, have him her debit card to pay for the right, he gave it back then she left. She adjusted the strap on her purse as she ran to the venue doors, greeted by a security guard.

"Hi. Um. My husband is having a party here. His name is Frank."She said, looking around for him. 

"I'm assuming you're Geralyn. You can go right in, he requested that you would be on the VIP list."The man explained, opening the door to the venue.

She thanked him as she went in. The lights were dim, but the music was loud. It smelled of liquor and onion rings, the smell brought back faint memories of that one time.

As she walked around through the crowd of people, she spotted Anthony, Milo, Lindsey, Frank's dad, her dad, Mikey, Kristin, basically the whole gang.

"Gee!" Anthony greeted her when she caught his attention, going over and hugging her. "I'm so glad you're here. Frank's been working so hard for this."

"I don't know what it is, but I'm very excited. He's my husband. I'm very lucky to be here- uh, hi?"

A waitress wearing a tank top that shows off her tits, tapped her on the back, handing her a glass of cranberry juice. "Mr. Iero sent this. A vodka-cranberry, minus the vodka."

"Oh, thank you." She smiled, accepting the drink. "Wait, why are there only three ice cubes?"

"That's what he requested, ma'am." The bartender shrugged, walking away from her.

She was a little confused as to why there were exactly three ice cubes in her drink, but then It dawned on her, these little gestures weren't just gestures, they were purposely made to reflect on the triplets, as he always did. 

"Oh, triplets, right."

The group and Gee talked for a while, chatting about how this was a nice bar, and they couldn't wait for her to see this, Anthony even called her the Prettiest Girl. But all attention was brought to the stage as the lights turned off, and the music stopped playing. 

She held onto Anthony, freaking out a little. Her heart raced in her chest, but then completely stopped as the light turned on.

Frank, Evan, Matt, Alex, and Steve appeared on stage. He stood at the microphone, front and center.

The crowd erupted into howls, claps, and whistles. Gee couldn't move, she was frozen in her place, none of her muscles moved. 

"Before we begin. My name is Frank. These are my friends, and we're the Cellabration."He announced into the microphone, a nervous smile plastered onto his face."I wrote this song back in high school, when I met the love of my life. It's called: 'She's The Prettiest Girl At The Party, And She Can Prove It With a Solid Right Hook.' The title is based on a true story, by the way. I hope you like it, um, here it goes."

He motioned something to his friends, then they all started playing the intro to this song. It started off with the strum of his guitar, then the beat from a drum slowly faded it. 

Tears welled in her eyes, subconsciously moving closer to the stage. She could feel the drums thumping within her, maybe that was her heart, but it was hard to tell the difference.

"I've got my bags all packed and I'm ready to go," He sang into the microphone, his eyes were closed as his hands worked at his guitar."I'm standing outside your figurative door. I'm ready for the flight or to fall off a cliff, but if it's alright with you I'd rather not miss out on us." 

Every word he sang, sounded like an angel's song, the emotion spilled out of his mouth, and made his hands carefully pluck the strings. He looked over at Gee as he sang, he winked at her, making her heart gleam. 

She wanted to hop the barrier and shower him with nothing but love, but she couldn't for various reasons. 

The song was over after another few minutes, but she wanted to hear this forever. She loved his voice, granted she's never heard it in this setting, only at basement gigs, but this? This was phenomenal. 

He did another song, he called it Joyriding. It had a funny beat to it, but it was one she loved. Then a couple more, one being a cover of Jawbreaker's Jinx Removing, a song that was deemed as theirs, the one that was a staple in their relationship. 

By the time he finished, his hair had been sweaty, his voice was a little worn, but he was still smiling. He told them goodnight, and that he hoped they enjoyed it because he and the Cellebration would be doing a couple of shows over the course of the next few weeks. They'd be under the headliner, Rise Against's wing, almost like a promotional tour, but he didn't care about getting big, he just wanted to make music and fulfill his dream. 

Then, the band left the stage with their instruments. Gee, she ran over to the ramp on the side of the stage, waiting for Frank to come out. It felt like forever, almost decades before she would even see a glimpse of him. 

But he didn't come out, a security guard came out instead. He grabbed onto Gee's arm and escorted her backstage, to this room where all the bands rehearsed, or got ready for the show. 

There he stood, a towel around his sweaty neck. He had this grin on his face, like a kid who just scored a winning goal for his basketball team. 

It had been a matter of seconds before she ran into his arms. He picked her up so her legs wrapped around his waist, ankles hooking together. 

"I fucking love you, Frank." She sobbed, her lips kissed all over his face, making him giggle. "Your voice- your fucking voice, holy shit." 

"I did it, Gee!" The excitement in his voice was more than obvious, his heart felt as if it was going to explode from all this. "I've wanted this since I was 13, and I fucking did it." 

"Words literally can't explain how proud I am." 

"Then don't say anything, just kiss me." He said, looking into her slightly puffy eyes, smiling a slight smile. 

How could she argue? She unhooked her ankles and lowered herself. Her hands went onto his chest, pushing him against the cherry red wall so his back was plastered against it. Her hands cupped his cheeks, their lips moved together, the kiss flavored like mint gum and cranberry. 

Their tongues danced as Frank caressed her body, pulling her closer by the small of her back. His lips were salty with sweat, but she couldn't give two fucks about that. The world seemed to stop around them, like they were the only two humans on this Earth. 

But the moment was too good to last long, as Evan came around, telling Frank they needed to leave, and that all the equipment was packed. They didn't want to break the kiss, not at all, but Frank also couldn't make everyone late. 

"Wait- you're leaving? No-" Her voice was worried, her hands held onto his, trying to make him stay. 

"No. Gee, we both are." He said, looking into her eyes. 

"What do you mean?" 

She really didn't know what she was expecting, but a little part of her expected what he was gonna say. 

"We're going on tour, baby." 

xxxxxxx

I'm so thrilled I finally got this written, I've been planning this since June of '17 and i'm more than excited it's finally apart of this story, officially. I'm really sorry if it was annoying up until this point, with all that hinting and shit that went on, but there's no more of that happening, I promise. I know bands can get set up over a course of a month or two, but I didn't think about that until recently and it was way too late to fix it. 

This by far is my favorite chapter, my heart is actually racing because of it, just sayin. 

Well, that's enough outta me, I hope you enjoyed this. More good things to come. 

XoxoMads


	16. A Kiss Goodbye Keeps The Warmth Away

note: if you stumble upon a story that's very similar to mine in anyway, please let me know. I've spent too much time on my works for them to be ripped off. It's been officially two years since I began planning this series, and I'm so grateful for all the love that it's gotten since.

i thought my best friend suggested that we fuck if we were gay men, but she was talking if she was gay then she'd fuck Jake Bass. I want to DIE 

I'm pleased to announce that this story has a trailer! It was made by the same friend that was just mentioned, It's my favorite thing and I couldn't have pictured a better one for this story, it's linked above so give it a watch, thank you ♡ 

✧

Frank Iero created this band for his wife, and three unborn children. His intention for starting tour, was that he would be able to bring her along, but her doctor had a different idea.

Dr. Emmett Cahill was her obstetrician, he had delivered the news to Gee during a phone call from her, asking if this was allowed. He told her that it would be safest for her to be close, as her pregnancy is more complicated than a normal, one baby pregnancy. 

It was too late for Frank to reschedule the tour, it wasn't even an option. Everyone bought their tickets, venues were booked, it just wasn't in the cards. 

Plus, the excuse that his wife couldn't join, wouldn't go over well with his tour manager. So, he had to suck it up and go on with tour, even though it probably won't be as fun without Gee.

The day was brand new, yet the same feelings from the night before carried over into the new dawn. 

The Cellebration just took off. It was surreal to him; this had been his dream for decades, and the closest thing he's had to fulfilling it was this garage band in high-school. It was called Pencey Prep. They had an album out, but the band fell through shortly after. 

It was a secret he kept for months prior to their debut, somehow he managed to keep it bottled up.

Upon finding old songs that were written about a breakup, and coming to the astonishing realization that he would soon be a dad; He had gotten in contact with an old member of Pencey, Matt, gathered up some old equipment the pair had, set out this plan and began writing more songs. 

Meeting after meeting went by with Vagrant Records, before they agreed to sign him. After that major stepping stone, Frank and his band worked hard to have everything done in time for New Years. Many doctors appointments were made, steroids were injected, and sore throats were healed. 

He felt bad about sneaking around, not returning home for days on end, but he thought that Gee's reaction to the band would be worth it. And as he expected, it was. She was proud, excited, and just a little bit scared.

Frank was due to start tour soon, just in a day or two, he really wanted Gee to come with him, but she had to stay behind as she couldn't miss upcoming doctors appointments. It wasn't like she could reschedule them, they were vital in order to keep the babies alive. 

But Frank was due to depart the next day, January first. They came home the night before, stumbling into their home, tangled up in a mess of drunken kisses. A trail of their clothes led up to their half put together bedroom, they tipped over their own feet and boxes scattered around the home.

The fort nearly collapsed on them from all of the vigorous movement, and accidental bumping into the chairs that held it up, they could hear the legs scrape against the hardwood floors, but they really didn't care because the scratches could easily be covered with a rug. 

"Wow," It was a pant, rather than a cold statement. Gee collapsed on the mattress, the box spring squeaked. "Give like, five minutes, and I'll be up for round two."

"What are you, a bitch in heat? But I'm not complaining, I love fucking you." Frank snickered. He winked at her as he laid beside her, his upper body propped up with his elbow.

"And I fucking love you. Though, I'm pretty bummed that you're leaving, I really want to come with you."

"I wish you could too. It sucks my best friend won't be with me. But I promise we'll use this thing called Skype, it's like a phone call, but for your face."

"We've never been apart for longer than a week. By the time you'll be back home, I'll already be in my second trimester, I don't want you to miss that."

"Hey, the babies won't be coming out of your vagina for another what, six and a half months?"

"Yeah. I'm due August 7th, I believe."

"Until then, I'll just be coming in it. But like, I'll only be gone for three weeks, then you get to join me in Boston."

"I should really get a new obstetrician. First, he said we couldn't have babies, then we were having twins instead of triplets, now I can't come with you? It's bullshit. I get that I should be close to the doctor, but we went to Paris, how is that worse?"

"Maybe because he thought you were only pregnant with one baby? And since it's three, he wants to make sure you're fine."

"It still blows. What am I going to cuddle? My pillow?" She scoffed. Her body was propped up by her elbows.

"How do you think I feel? I won't have any tits to grab, or wives to hold onto."

"Hey, you'll be back in a couple of weeks. Then, my tits are all yours to grab."

"I know you have a doctors appointment in three weeks, to like find out the sex of all three babies, I'm super stoked, but can you promise me that you won't find out before me?"

He figured that if she was with him, they could postpone finding out what they're having until they got back, but since that didn't work out that way, Gee would be the only one going to her doctors appointment.

"I don't want you to worry about that, you have this amazing opportunity in front of you, three little orbs inside my uterus shouldn't trouble you."

"We can use that Skype thing, like, I can be there to see the babies. They must've gotten so big since Christmas."

"They're the size of kumquats, so about an inch, I think." 

They both snickered at the word. It sounded dirty but it was just a fruit, but in their dirty, irresponsible minds, they couldn't think of it as any different. Frank moved his hand to her belly with a sigh. "It totally blows that I have to leave tonight. But I know this will be fun."

"Maybe I can sneak off without telling my doctor, like I can visit you every weekend. I don't care if you're in California or on the moon, I'll be in the front row."

"That's dangerous. Someone can kick or punch you in the belly, and hurt our precious kumquats. Maybe I can sneak you into the back, that way I can see you before and after the show. What the fuck is a kumquat anyway?"

"I really don't know, but you know what won't hurt them." A smirk quirked onto Gee's face as she placed a hand on Frank's chest, slowly trailing down.

"As much as I'd love to fuck you again, I have to go downstairs and work on some t-shirts, plus the movers will be here, I don't want them to walk in with our shit while I'm balls deep."

"Oh, right. You have responsibilities to do before you go away." She sighed dramatically as her body collapsed on the bed. "I'm going to sleep a little more, you wear me out."

Frank only looked at her with a cocked eyebrow, snickering. Then he kissed her cheek and got out of the partially collapsed fort. She commented on Frank's ass as he got out, and he just blushed and mumbled 'fuck you'. 

As he got dressed, he could hear shuffling from inside the fort, as well as little pants and muffled noises of pleasure. He was confused, but he soon knew what was going on. This bubble of excitement and arousal inflated in his stomach, but would pop as he looked into the fort. When his eyes looked with Gee's, she only giggled in the cutest, most menacing way that always put a smile on his face, she was in her pajamas, much to his disappointment.

They thought that if Frank would be gone for a month, he should have a proper send off for the tour. It was almost like a surprise party, but smaller and less planned, just a dinner. Gee was first to bring up the idea of the party, though it wasn't as extravagant as creating a band, leaving him in the dark for a few weeks, then announcing a North American tour as a guest for Rise Against, it was still something meaningful and sweet. But his welcome home party would be way bigger, of course.

It was the least she could do after finding out that she couldn't be by him on tour, then he would able to have this memory in his head until he came home. She had a little surprise for him, It's something she has wanted to give to him for a long time. She found this the same way Frank found his sheets of music, back at her old home. She made sure it was neatly packaged and had nearly every memory they've shared, stopping at the happiest of all, their wedding.

It was his,"remember me while you're gone."gift. Ever since the day they met, they haven't gone more than a month without seeing each other, even two weeks was hard. But back in their day, Skype wasn't a thing, and they were always broke so really the only form of communication they had, was payphone calls once a week, at best.

But neither of them could be selfish like that, Gee couldn't stop him from going because she'll miss him, and Frank couldn't cancel the tour because she wasn't able to come with him. They hoped that she would be able to meet him where ever he is, just for the night, it wouldn't be as strenuous as actually touring with the band, though the travel would drain her, it would be worth it to see Frank, even for just a couple of hours live out his dream. 

This will work, they thought. There's no way they could see it going the opposite way, they were adults now, and not broke teenagers in the early 2000's, it had to be different than it was.

Despite the fact they've only had less than twenty-four hours to discuss this, they felt they've talked about it enough as even the thought of it, brought them down.

This would be the first time they've been out of each others security blanket since the miscarriage, a new step for both of them emotionally. But until he left, they would make the best out of the day, then Gee would have to drive him to Philadelphia. She thought it would be easier for both of them if she drove Frank to Philadelphia, that way they could spend that hour together.They both pushed that to the back of their heads, just for a couple of hours before he was due to leave. 

"Hey, honey? You'll be in your office for a while, right?" Gee poked her head around the door frame, trying her best to not let herself sound suspicious, or like she had something up her sleeve. He sat on the floor of the office filled with boxes, with a stack of white and black t-shirts from Walmart and a bundle of black and silver sharpies. "Whoa, what're you up to?" 

"I mean, not long, I'll still have to help set up our house. I'm making shirts, Cara fucked up the order and we won't have any in time for the first couple of shows, so I'm making some. Half of them are going to have Sweetpea, and the other, are just the band's logo, nothing to get a boner over." 

"Nah, I'll do it. Just stay in here, jerk off, do whatever you want to do. Don't leave, though, the house will be a god damn mess and I don't want you to see that." 

"I'll be stuck in this room for a while, but I'll gladly help you if you need it, be careful, though."

A sense of relief came over her, knowing that Frank would be secluded in his office for the majority of he day between working on the t-shirts, attaching the foam to the wall, setting up his desktop and printer, he'd be quite busy. His office was technically an extra lounge on the first floor, while one room was his office, the connecting room was set up to be Gee's office. 

"I think that's them at the door. Also, honey, your mom and dad are stopping over for a bit today. They'll be here around seven, in case you were curious." 

"Speaking of them, do you have a picture of the babies? Ma wants one, and I can't find your most recent one."

"Yeah, uh, I should probably get the door. I wouldn't want to keep them waiting." 

Rather than gladly handing the picture over, Gee scurried away from the room and shouted an "I'm coming, hold your horses, I can only move so fast." as the main man pounded on the door. She could be heard as trotted down the hall. Her sneakers squeaked and stomped against the hardwood floor. 

Before she could even step away from the door,about five of the men came barreling into the home. They held lamps, boxes, and everything in between. It was almost like they were in a band and moved to the choreographed dance, the stomping of their work boots echoed through the house, almost in unison.

She assisted them by bringing some of the boxes into the home, and directing them where to go with each piece of furniture. Before they could get to the master bedroom, Gee had to quickly disassemble the fort they made, it was a little strange to explain why they had dining room chairs in their bedroom, but not as strange has explaining all the animals, Star Wars, and comic book characters painted in the nursery. 

Frank stayed in his office the entire time, making t-shirts, trying to assemble a few burned CD's into cases with the record's name on it, not really caring about the fat, sweaty. cheeto-stained shirt wearing movers as they walked in and out of his office. 

As they finished up, they brought in the three cribs, still in the shipping boxes from online. Frank had come out for a beer when he noticed the movers as started to open them up. He told them that they shouldn't do that, and everything was already done, so they could leave. After a very generous pay of $600, Frank went up to the nursery. 

"Gee!" He screamed almost bloody murder from the top of the stairs. Gee was downstairs, unpacking all of her comic books, memorabilia, and art supplies in her office. She had some classical music playing, so she didn't hear him right away. This time, instead of calling her name like a banshee, he ran down to her office and poked his head through the door frame. 

"Hey, I was just-"

"There's a spider in the nursery, I went up there to make our bed and I saw this nasty fucking thing on the floor. Please, can you kill this son of a bitch?" It was a ramble with added-in wheezes and pants. 

"Ew, shit, okay, I'll be up." She made a face of slight disgust as she placed records on her shelf. She wiped her hands on her jeans as she stood up, her foot pushed the box of records to the side. 

"There could be spider babies somewhere, we're wasting time! I don't want my kids to be eaten by spiders." He huffed and reached his hand out for her, she only laughed at him and how irrational that sounded, but this man was a victim of arachnophobia, as was she.

Frank dragged her up to the nursery with a can of hairspray in one hand, while the other was secured tightly around hers. He pulled her into the room, handed her the bottle of hairspray then closed the door. 

"Where's the spider- wait, Frank, that's just a pile of screws." 

"Oh, silly me. Hey, while you're up here, let's put together the cribs." He acted like it was one of those "well since you're here." situations, but it wasn't one of those, he brought her up for the sole purpose of putting them together. He wanted to do this now, instead of waiting until he got back when he was exhausted and sore. 

"We don't have any sheets, though. Don't they need sheets?" 

"Yeah, but they're included. No blankets though, the babies can get tangled up, I read about it the night I bought them. But if they get cold, we can buy some really soft onesies for them, kind of like your skeleton one, or my dino one." 

"I think you're nesting, babe." 

"I can't help it, I never thought I'd get a chance to decorate a nursery and now that it's actually happening, I can't contain myself. " A blush arose to his face as his heart buzzed with love and filled with the overwhelming feeling of warmth. 

Gee couldn't help but feel empathy towards Frank, she knew how important family was to him, and why he was the one who was nesting more than she was. From the moment the pregnancy was confirmed, Frank wanted nothing more than to build a nice home for the babies, despite the fears and concerns in the beginning. 

Now don't think she wasn't excited about the triplets, she really was, but even though she was cleared by her doctor that she would be giving birth to the babies in August, this little voice in the back of her mind still doubted that everything would be alright. With Frank around and his excitement, it drowned out that sound, and with him being gone for a while, it would be hard to think on the bright side, if there even was one. 

"Well, what are we waiting for? Let's rip open those boxes and build some fucking baby beds." 

His eyes lit up like a Christmas tree, as did hers. He kissed her forehead, then he proceeded to go over to one of the boxes and ripped off the packing tape. She went over to the one in the middle of the room and did the same. Piece by piece they pulled the parts from the box, all with a sticker with a number, even then they were both so sure they'd fuck it up. But they're Ikea directions, of course they would. 

As they put the cribs together, this felt more real than it ever has before. It allowed Gee to see a glimpse of the bright side again, where she would come into this room every day to make sure the babies were sleeping peacefully, instead of coming in here to take everything down and send it all back. 

"Shit! God fucking dammit." She hissed in pain, her hand dropped the hammer to the floor. "Fuck, son of a bitch."

"Are you okay? Oh god, was it the babies?" 

"No. Your wife is a fucking idiot, I was distracted and then the fucking butterflies surprised me and I hit my thumb." 

"Wait, you felt the butterflies?" 

She looked down at her belly, then up at Frank with glassy eyes, both from the pain and the sensation of the babies moving slightly. She hadn't felt them since Christmas, and that scared her and Frank a lot, and to know that they moved again was a great sense of relief. Frank came over to her, bit his lip then placed a hand on her belly. 

He had moved his hand around all over the area a doctor would use the probe on, he even tried to press down a bit because they're still very small, it was upsetting that he couldn't feel them at the time, but he knew that in just another week or two, they could be felt. Tears could be seen in his eyes as his expression fell when a realization hit him. 

"What if I'm not here when they kick for the first time? I could be singing when they'll kick, then they'll wonder why I'm not here to feel them." 

"Oh Frank..." She sighed as she pulled Frank into a loving embraced, her hand went to the back of his head. "I'll be with you every weekend, you'll be there to feel them, even if you're a thousand miles away, I'll-"

It seemed as if her train of thought crashed by the figure standing outside. She squinted and moved closer, the bleach blonde hair almost glowing in the sunset. The woman outside had a black umbrella covering her face, she seemed like a stranger but this wrenching feeling in Gee's gut, told her otherwise. 

Her eyes were glued to this woman, she just wouldn't leave. Maybe it was time to call the police, God knows how long she's been standing there. Frank had noticed her looking out of the window, "What?" he asked, following her gaze outside. He saw he woman too, confused. 

"Th-There's this woman- Frank, I-" It was a mindless sentence of words, like she didn't know what reality she was in and had to make sense of where she was at. With a shaky hand, she reached over to grab her phone, she dialed the three digit number and pulled the device to her ear. 

It was almost if the woman knew what she was doing, because as Gee explained the situation to the dispatcher, the lady scurried off of the property. Her boots sloshed around in the mud and splashed water, but that didn't stop her. It was awkward to tell the person on the phone that the situation resolved just then, but that didn't make it any less concerning. She didn't send anyone out yet, otherwise they could've gotten into a heap of trouble for that. 

"I'm sorry - fuck, that scared the shit out of me. My heart is currently in my stomach, at this rate, it'll be coming out of my ass tonight." 

"That was fucking strange, though. Why our house? There are twenty fucking houses on this block, and that creepazoid chooses our home to peep into." 

"She was probably a druggie looking for someone to score a couple bucks off of." She shook her head, then kissed the top of Frank's. "But, you'll be the first one to feel the Three Musketeers kick, alright? Don't worry your pretty little head off." 

"You think I'm pretty?" 

"I mean, you got me pregnant, that outta say something."

"How about, we finish up the cribs, then we go downstairs and chill out on the sofa, watch a flick or two before my parents get here. I've literally never seen so many emotions unfold in such a short amount of time." 

"Yeah, you must've missed it. I was sad because we didn't have any twizzlers left, then I got so happy because I saw a package in the pantry, but then I cried and got angry because you put an empty bag back, all within like five minutes." 

Things like that are what granted him the nickname by his loving wife, mouse. He lived like one, his office was always a mess, as was their bedroom, he ate nearly all of the food in the home, and rarely took a shower. It was good to laugh at something, each of them just went through a roller coaster of emotions. 

They went on to finish up the cribs, and Gee focused more on what she was doing, and not what three orbs inside of her were doing. A while later, all three of them were assembled and pushed against 3/4 of the walls in the room. The mattresses rested perfectly on the frame, the sheets were wrinkle free, and the room felt warm, yet very incomplete. 

"Can we do this? Like, keep the spark alive while you're across the country." It was a question that burned inside her mind ever since she was told she couldn't go with Frank, and relationships like that are fucking hard. Her head rested on his shoulder as they looked over the somewhat finished nursery, her hand holding his. 

"We made it through someone far worse than this, I know the spark will still be there, maybe even brighter than it was before. I'm really going to miss the sex, though, like a lot." 

"I will too. But, promise me that if it dies down even at all, we'll do our best to rekindle it? I mean, I don't have any doubts, I just want to know that if things ever went downhill, we'll make it work." 

"Don't worry, love. I'll love you twice as much when I get back, knowing that I have you, and my three hooligans to come back home to." 

"Hooligans, eh? They take after you, I know it already." 

"You're just as bad, don't tell me you've forgotten about all of your shenanigans." 

"No, I must've forgotten." She bit her lip and looked up at him with the orneriest look in her eyes, one that turned out to mirror into Frank's as a smirk quirked onto his face. 

"Maybe I should remind you of how bad you've been." Then his hands went to her hips, he gripped onto them as he slowly pushed her over to the wall, stopping when her back was pressed against the plaster. 

"Maybe you should, can't go acting all sweet and innocent." Her heart began to race as her inner voice screamed, yet she managed to keep it down. "In this room?" 

"I don't see any babies sleeping, do you?" 

"No, I don't see myself getting fucked either, but here we are." 

"Why don't we turn off the lights, we don't have curtains yet, wouldn't want any creeps to see the show they've been waiting for." He mumbled against her neck, moving his hand between her legs, rubbing softly. The other went to their right, blindly searching for the light switch that would turn off the overhead lamp. 

Then, the room went black, with only the light of a faint sunset disappearing behind the Earth before the moon would creep into the sky,acting as the only light for millions. In this moment, they both felt invincible, like nothing would ever break the love they have, a few hour travel wouldn't damage them, if something as bad as a miscarriage couldn't, this couldn't either, this wouldn't even create a pebble sized dent. 

Maybe, despite the fact life had smoothed itself out, and they aren't angry anymore, a small break would be a good idea to catch their breath, they've been up each others asses for months, but neither of them wanted that, they loved the other's company, but a little break never hurt anyone. 

"So Dad, how's the new house going? You settling in well?" Frank asked as he dug through his take-out container with chopsticks. "You could've asked us for help, we would've gladly done it." 

"Actually, Son, I backed out of the house. I found a new place to live."

"Don't tell me that you're moving back to California, you just got here-"

"So, Gee, how are the triplets?" Gee's dad intervened, completely disregarding Frank's dad. He didn't think that whatever they were talking about was important, well nothing that could hold a candle to his daughter. "Why aren't you eating? You must be starving." 

"Um, they're good. I'm thirteen weeks as of yesterday, they're the size of this weird fruit. We get to find out the sexes in just a couple of weeks." She tapped her fingers against the side of her Coke can, while she nibbled on her thumb nail. "I'm not real hungry, I guess. Something happened earlier that fucked my mind up, still don't know what the fuck it was. But, I have to go take a whiz, so I'll be back." 

"Huh, it makes sense now that something has happened to her, too, It must have to do with what today is." Mikey chimed in, looking up from his plate as his sister left the room. 

"Wait, what's today?" Frank asked. 

"Geralyn's never told you?" 

"No." 

"Well, back when Mikey and Geralynn were babies, I lost my wife." Donald went on to explain the day's devastating backstory, but it's been so long that it doesn't phase him anymore, resentment replaced the feeling of any guilt, or sadness he once felt. 

It was a story that was rarely told, but it held a lot of weight and answers for those who were curious about who the Way's were. Growing up wasn't easy for them, but it's made them into the people they are now, that have shields to protect themselves from what their mother was.

Gee and Mikey's mother, better known as Donna, was an alcoholic and addict. She often chose money for booze and cocaine over formula for her children, the only thing that would provide those things for them, was her mother, Elena. Elena stepped in as a parental figure for the children while their mother was out at some nightclub, getting smashed. 

After Elena threatened to take full custody of the children, Donna took that as a reality check. She knew she should step in for the sake of her children, so she made the leap to become clean and sober, everything was great for about six months. Mikey was taken care of, as was Gee, food was always on the table, bills were paid, and they could have the toys and clothing that they wanted. 

They celebrated Mikey's first birthday as a family, the last birthday that would be celebrated that way. 

On New Years Eve, Donna told Donald that she would be leaving to buy their weekly round of groceries, and he took her word for it and didn't think twice before handing over the keys to his car. She left that night for a trip that would take an hour and a half at best, but after four and a half hours, Donald grew concerned. 

Mikey and Gee fussed beyond belief, their tummies empty with no milk or formula in sight. Donald tried calling his wife over and over, but she wouldn't answer her phone. He had to call Elena over to bring a carton of milk for them, and that calmed the children down significantly. But that didn't settle his nerves, as Donna failed to return any of his calls. 

It wasn't until a sheriff showed up at the home, with the news that Donna had been intoxicated and got into a car wreck, and they found a body, charred and squished between her car, and the other car. They pronounced her dead after midnight, January first. 

The day held a lot of weight for the Way family, but Frank deserved to know as he's apart of it now. It was strange that Gee never told him, but it just never came up in all the conversations they've had. It was nice to know about her mom, all he knew was that she was dead, nor how it happened or when. 

When she came back from the bathroom, Frank got up from the table, hugged her and apologized. She didn't know what he was apologizing for, she thought it was because he had to leave soon, and he didn't want to do that to her. She told him that it was okay, he's living out his dream, but she'll be there next to him. But that wasn't it, not even close, but he didn't want to upset her with the fact that he knew, or having to remind her that her negligent mother was in a coffin six feet under. 

He made sure he told Gee that he loved her almost a million time during he remainder of dinner, he sounded like a broken record almost, but it didn't bother her, she thought it was adorable. She just held his hand and stole a few dumplings. 

Then, after dinner was over, It was time that Frank got his bags together, Gee bawled as Frank got his bags together and laid them by the front door, she tried to act like she had her shit together but she didn't, she wanted nothing more than to pull him close to her and keep him at home. 

To make everything worse, Evan and the rest of the band showed up to pick Frank up, meaning that Gee couldn't drive him as planned. They tried to stall him leaving for as long as they could, but he needed to leave so by the time they get to Philly, they could sleep as they had a very busy schedule the following day. 

She couldn't give him his gift either, because she wanted to add three more pictures before she gave it to him, It would be another month before he'd get it, but it could mean she's putting a lot more love into it. 

Before he left, he hugged all of his family, said his goodbye's to his in-law's, then left the house. Gee waited on the porch for him, where he was greeted with a tight hug and a sweet, loving kiss on his lips. She whispered, "Frank, just know that I'll be here for when you get back." as her head rested on his shoulder, her trembling hands wrapped around his neck. 

"I can't tell you goodbye, because then it would seem like i'm not here, but I'll be beside you, even if I'm a thousand miles away from you." 

"Forget me not." She said, voice low. She pulled her head away to look him in the eyes, then to kiss his button nose. "I love you, Iero." 

"You're not too bad either, Way." He placed his hand underneath her chin, then pulled her closer to kiss her. Their noses rubbed together in the purest way, it was almost like a scene out of some shitty Lifetime movie that would be on at 2 A.M. But like every good moment, it had to end, leaving the two separated and without that warmth they felt constantly. 

The car door slamming shut, sounded like nails on a chalkboard, it made her heart wrench and tears fall from her eyes, but Frank poked his head out of the window, blew her a kiss and mouthed "I love you." before the car drove off. She watched as it disappeared into complete and utter darkness, her mind screamed for her to chase after him, but her body told her to stay and go back into the home, as it was warmer and where she could be around her family. She thought it was a good idea, but she also wanted to sleep this off and hope he'd be there next to her, with his hands on her boobs or her belly, but she'd be lying in an empty bed. 

The blistering winds became too much for her, it felt as if she stood in the freezer for hours on end, and that couldn't be good for herself or the triplets, so she turned around to go inside. One thing caught her attention, it was a note attached to the door with scotch tape, written in ransom. 

"February 1st, 2010  
9:30 P.M."


	17. You’ll Never Know Dear

hello! I can happily say that the rewriting is done! Chapters 2-6 are done, I'm deeply sorry that it took so long. I went through some things within the last few months, but I'm doing just fine :) Updates will be regular from this point on. sorry that this chapter took so long, I had a lot of stuff going on lately but now everything is just fine. 

The past can't be changed, but the way some people think of the past can be. It all just takes one more piece of a faded memory to remember what happened those many years ago. For some, it's remembering where they lost a favorite toy from a childhood, putting together a spouse's affair that they tried so desperately to keep hidden, or remembering how a fatal crash ended. A child's mind could misconstrue what was heard, or an adult would turn facts into something false in order to protect his family, and would still continue to do so even when the children were grown up and had their own families to protect, but the piece that he tried his hardest to keep hidden for all of those years, would resurface. 

Frank had been gone for almost a week, yet it already felt like a month. The house felt bitter cold, not even a hundred blankets could replace the warmth that Frank brought. Linda brought Mitch and the two pups over, so keeping an eye on the mini zoo helped distract her mind. Though, they would FaceTime when Frank had some free time, but it was always so chaotic with the band members drunk off of their asses, they would scream, laugh, and talk inappropriately loudly. Frank would often send some videos and/ or photos of the shows, always of She's The Prettiest Girl or All I want, the two songs that he liked to define as their songs. 

He had for a month and some change long tour, with a band he recently built with a few of his buddies. They'd be gone for a while, maybe until March but they were still deciding on whether or not to divide the tour into two parts. Part one would be around four weeks, as will part two, but it wasn't set in stone.

As she spent a lot of her time worrying about how Frank's doing, if he's being fed enough, or if he was homesick, she forgot about a lot of the priorities in her life. One of which was just the spark she needed to begin living her long-time dream of being a comic book writer. 

One thing that kept her from thinking about that, was the note she found taped to her front door. She didn't know who did it, or why, but it really have her the heebie jeebies. 

February 1st, what could that mean? The second month of the New Year held only two important dates, the Iero's wedding anniversary, and Valentine's Day, but nothing took place on the first. Not only did that throw Gee for a loop, it was the fact it was written in ransom, like some freak cut out letters from magazines, glued them to a piece of construction paper and taped it on their front door. 

It was that night she was most thankful that they had security alarms set, she knew how to handle herself, but if she wasn't home this could save her ass. Frank didn't know about it, because he currently didn't have his phone. He left it on the kitchen counter, and didn't double check if he had all of his shit before leaving. So she's had no contact with him since that night, so he couldn't post any photos from the show, text her, nothing. 

She thought about calling Evan from Frank's phone, but she didn't want to disrupt whatever they were doing if they were busy. Frank would probably call when he got a chance, from whoever's phone, she kept both her's and Frank's on hand just in case he were to call on either. 

"Gee, you have to get out of the house. Why don't you come to lunch with me? Then maybe we can go up to that maternity shop in the mall, they have amazing clothing for expectant mothers." Lindsey suggested. She thought she should drop by and see how Gee was doing, she didn't have a spare key for nothing. "I always went there when I was pregnant with Bandit."

"You were so tiny when you were pregnant with Lady B, though. I don't think I'll need special stretchy pants, my jeans are fine. They're fine now, I'm only like, 11 weeks pregnant?" Gee insisted, taking a can of Coke from the fridge. "I was just going to order a pizza and work on some drawings, but I guess going out for lunch would be nice." 

"Yeah, but that was one baby. You have three growing inside of you, I'll promise that your belly will be three times as big." Lindsey was right, her belly isn't going to be this cute, perfectly round baby belly that would be seen in some parenting magazine, it's going to be huge, and not something you'd typically see in a magazine like that. "How are they doing, by the way?" 

"According to Frank, the babies are the size of figs, otherwise, I think that they're doing just fine. I'm not even showing, though, Frank thinks I am, but I think I've just gained a bit of weight."

"Yeah, you look so pregnant. Wait, aren't you going to see him tonight?" 

"Yeah. Before he left, he left me a little schedule so I'd know what time to be there. The show starts at 6:30, but Frank told me to be there at 5 O'Clock, so I have to leave at like two or so." 

Frank made sure to leave behind a piece of paper that had their entire schedule printed onto it, he left it on their pillow with a note attached to it, it was a heartfelt letter to both her, and the three little figs growing within her. Attached to the note, was a phone number to Evan, so in case of an emergency in which she couldn't get a hold of Frank, or he left his phone at home, that number would be there for her. 

He would be in Lancaster, PA. that night, making it quite a drive from New Jersey to Pennsylvania, but she would drive around the country just to see him. At the start of the tour, he went from New York to Cincinnati, she almost made it to the last three shows, but Kelly made her stay late at the office nearly every night to finish her transcript and send it in to the President of D.C. comics, at least she had that part done, so she would have more time on her hands to visit Frank on his wild adventure. 

She wasn't supposed to visit him until Boston, at the very end of the tour as her doctor didn't want her to be far, but she really didn't give a shit at that moment in time. 

For a while, Gee was a tad bit worried on how Frank would be able to pull this off, she knew that he could do it- but he was taking a little risk doing that, so far everything to be turning out fine, so she wasn't quite as worried. 

Lindsey still tried pushing her to go out to lunch, but Gee didn't want to. She feared that they'd take too long, and she would end up being late in leaving to visit Frank, but Lindsey wanted Gee to be able to get out before that long drive. However, they compromised and ordered a pizza from down the street. It was brought up to Gee's room, as Gee packed some things into a SVA drawstring bag. 

While Gee got some clothes together, Lindsey stayed on the bed with a slice of pizza in her hand, she laid on her side as she watched and talked to Gee, she watched her walk in and out of the bathroom, closet, and shuffle in drawers searching for a certain shirt. It was a black and red striped shirt, it was one of the most comfortable shirts she owned, but she couldn't seem to find it. Lindsey took it upon herself to help Gee find the shirt, even though Gee insisted that she didn't didn't need help. 

She checked underneath the bed, the messy covers, and dressers for the shirt. Neither of them could find it, maybe Frank took it with him so he had a part of her with him, or it was lost in the mountain of unwashed laundry in the basement, she would try to find it, but it would be like finding a needle in a haystack. Lindsey came down with her, they dug through the pile of clothes searching for the striped shirt. 

Within the pile, Lindsey found the paper that was once taped onto the front door of Gee's home. It scared her a little, but she was sure that Gee had a rational explanation for that, like a reminder for an appointment, or a special day for herself and Frank, but she wouldn't have kept the reminder in ransom. She casually asked Gee what it was, "Gee, babe, what is this? Michael Meyers on the hunt for you?"

"Nah. It's just some note I found on the door, probably some teenager planning on egging my house. I don't know, I'm sure Sweetpea will scare whoever it is off." They both giggled at that, but only the lord knew what the little pup could do. "But, like, there was this creepy lady outside of our house before Frank left for tour. We were building the three musketeer's cribs and she was just, standing there, staring up at our house." 

"Homeless, maybe. Or she's some sort of crib-snatcher." 

"Lindsey...no, that's not what that means. But next time I see her, just as long as she isn't a teenager, I'm gonna give her a cup of warm tea or something. Maybe some cash, I dunno, but I need to find my fuckin' shirt, Mikey might've swi-hey, there it is." The stripped shirt was found at the bottom of the pile, buried underneath a mixture of her's and Frank's clothing. Mixed in, was the Cherry Iero onesie that somehow got thrown in there during the move, even though they kept it away from all of the dirty laundry. 

Lindsey's heart practically melted at the onesie, she thought it was one of the sweetest things that she'd ever seen. "Cherry? Wait, does this mean you're having a girl? or all girls?!" 

"No, no. We haven't found out yet, still pretty early on in the game. I know it's cute and all, but like, try not to get too excited, I won't be 14 weeks until next week, anything can happen within the next seven days." 

The twelve weeks were up, just newly up, but she wanted to wait until she was at least 14 weeks until she was comfortable with the idea of being pregnant. But, so far everything seemed just fine, but as she said, there was a chance that she could lose one, two, or all three of the babies in those seven days. It was a small possibility in every pregnancy, maybe that was why Kristin was so late to tell everyone, they already knew the gender of her baby. She thought they might've jumped the gun and said something sooner than they should've, almost jinxing their chances of a miscarriage by telling nearly all of their families.

She remembered that Frank was surrounded with all of his friends, traveling the country together, surely it would've came up in a conversation where he'd tell them that not only she was pregnant, but with triplets. He knew about her concerns about the twelve weeks, so he might not have said anything after all, she was still pregnant and things were well with the babies. Even though things were fine, she decided that she wouldn't tell another soul about the pregnancy until the 12 weeks were up. 

Lindsey told her the same thing- she had absolutely nothing to worry about and the pregnancy was making her overthink. After all, she would know above anyone else, and Gee didn't want to debate on what she didn't know, so she nodded and agreed that she was just overthinking. "You're right, fuckin' hormones I guess. I've been so emotional over everything."

"Its gonna get worse as your belly gets bigger, your sex life is basically gone, and your tits hurt like a motherfucker."

"Way to get me excited about pregnancy. Though, I feel..fine? But I puke often, just thinking about chocolate chip cookies makes me want to hurl."

"Ah, that's a telltale sign that your labor is going to absolutely awful. Easy pregnancy, awful labor. Your poor pussy, three babies tearing through-"

"Dude, shut up. You're literally making me want to rip my children out of my uterus at this very second." She groaned and threw a towel at Lindsey, rolling her eyes.

"Okay, when your vagina rips during childbirth, don't say I never warned you." Lindsey giggled, "On a different note, are you sure you don't want some company on your way to Lancaster? That's three hours, babe. Bandit's dad can watch her for the day?" 

"Nah, I'll be fine. A trip from California to Jersey didn't kill me, so I don't think this will either." 

"C'mon, you need some company. What if you get too tired to drive? I can't risk you falling asleep behind the wheel." 

Lindsey wasn't wrong, she had a right to be concerned about Gee driving. Two years ago, she didn't have a reason to be worried, but she knew that pregnancy makes a woman like a zombie from The Walking Dead, utterly exhausted and miserable. Lindsey knew Gee used to drink a lot of coffee, but her doctor told her to cut down because excessive amounts of caffeine can link to miscarriage, and a very low birth weight, and she was more than willing to give up some of the caffeine. 

After the conversation changed back to the note left on the front door, Lindsey suggested that it might have been from Matthew, but before she could get the name out, Gee left the room and scurried up to her bedroom,almost as if his name set something off within her like a bottle rocket, Lindsey regretted the choice instantly, she ran up behind Gee. 

She was quick to apologize, but Gee told Lindsey that she wasn't upset about what she had mentioned, she had just begun to feel a little bit queasy, well maybe a little because of what Lindsey had said, as she just mentioned a dude who not only sold her drugs, but nearly beat the shit out of her a few months prior, but she gave him a check for about $20,000, so she figured that he would stay away from a while, if not for good. 

With the nausea mentioned, Lindsey was even more worried about Gee leaving, like what if she hurled all over the dashboard, on Frank as he preformed or worse, the crowd itself. She assured Lindsey that she was just fine, and a bit of nausea didn't bring her down at all, she would be just fine after popping a xanax or two. Again, Lindsey didn't argue with Gee on herself, so she just sat on bed and shoved loose clothing into Gee's drawstring bag.

In an attempt to make conversation, Lindsey asked how the comic was going, Gee told her that she should be hearing from her Agent soon regarding the future of her career, but she doubted that she would hear anything anytime soon. 

The clock ticked, an hour went by before it was time for her to leave the home in order to make it to the show on time. She tossed her bag onto the floor of her car, along with another that had some of Frank's things, like his phone, charger, a Polaroid photo of Mama and Sweetpea, and a recent sonogram photo of the three babies. Lindsey hugged her goodbye, it could be heard in her voice that she was worried about the drive. 

"Gee, are you sure? I can easily call him and tell him that I'll be out of state for a night." 

"Yep. I just..no offense to you, I love you but I just want to spend tonight with Frank. You know? I-I just miss him and-"

"- you want to ride him so hard that the bus breaks, got it." Lindsey cut Gee off, making the younger the blush heavily. Gee didn't want to admit it even though her reaction did it for her, but Lindsey was right about that. She missed Frank as a person, a husband, a lover, but also the man he was underneath the covers. It wasn't the main reason why she was visiting him, but it was definitely on the agenda. 

After the goodbye's were said and the bags were in the car, Lindsey and Gee parted ways. Lindsey got into her black jeep, Gee got into her red corvette, and they drove off in two different directions. The drive to Lancaster was just beginning, but Frank wanted her to be there already, even though he knew it was quite a drive.

An old cassette from college blasted through the speakers in her car, a mix of the Ramones, Queen, Iron Maiden, some of her favorite female fronted britpop bands, and supergrass filled the silence of the car ride in a sweet symphony that Gee basked in. She didn't want the noise of the GPS cutting through the noise of her music, so once in a while she'd glance over at the little screen so she would know she was going the right way. 

About an hour into the drive, Frank called her from Evan's phone. The call was connected via a bluetooth earpiece that she used when driving, there was an obvious tone of excitement in his voice, knowing that she would be there soon.

"Where are you exactly?" His voice came through with background noises of some sort of chaos, "Like, how long do I have before I should hide out in my bunk with a boner." 

"Just entered Levittown, so like, another hour before I'll be where you are. I don't think that we'll have time to get around to what you're planning on doing before the show. We haven't had sex in a week, a quickie wouldn't do much for either of us, but I'm totally into the idea of blowing you."

"As much as I love your blowjobs, like I really love them, I'd rather wait to fuck you. And after the show, we sleep in a hotel room tonight instead of the bus, so we have a room to yourselves all night."

"Sweet. Hey, babe, I think there's someone else who's beeping in. Hold on for a second." She pressed a button on the earpiece that ended the call with Frank, then connected her to whoever was trying to reach her. She said hello, and a voice that was unrecognizable responded to her. 

Her name was Claudia, she was a publisher from Dark Horse comics. Claudia started the conversation with saying that she and a handful of other employees from the company read the draft for Umbrella, and they had all mutually agreed to bring the writer in for a meeting to sign a contract, essentially saying that they would love for her to be signed to the company, they wanted to publish the comic, loving the unique art and story line of the comic. 

Claudia wanted Gee to come in for a meeting with herself and a few other publishers from the company, and Gee didn't have an issue with that, so a meeting was scheduled for the next month at around 2:45 P.M. It was something that she didn't know how to feel about just then, it was exciting but nothing was set in stone, she didn't know much about the company itself and who they've published. She needed to do some research before she signed anything, she didn't want to jeopardize her career. 

After the call was over, she took a deep breath and pulled into a coffee shop parking lot. She tried calling Frank back as she got out of the car, but it went straight to voicemail. She knew that he was probably doing something important or Evan needed his phone back, so she just decided that she would talk to him once she got to Lancaster, if he didn't call her back. 

She bought an iced coffee from the shop, along with a pack of vegan coconut vanilla cookies, and assorted flavors of jelly beans. As she walked out of the shop, she saw another that was a liquor store. To bring Frank something he loved, she went in and purchased a bottle of his favorite whisky and a six-pack of his favorite beer. They were loaded into the backseat of her car, next to the drawstring bag that had been moved, then she continued on with her journey to Lancaster. 

As she drove, she thought about the company and if this was the right time to sign with them. By the time things would be up and running with not only her career with them, but having issues of the first installment of the Umbrella Academy printed and sold, not to mention signings and promotional events, she would be very close to giving birth to the babies. 

Though, she would have time after the babies are born, because newborns sleep almost all the time, which would leave her with time to work on further installments to the Umbrella Academy. Before she would sign any contract, she would talk this through with someone like Frank, or Kelly. 

Frank would be very supportive of either decision that she made, but Kelly would have her lean towards taking the offer even if it wasn't the right thing to do at the moment. But this was Frank's night, she didn't want to focus on anything but Frank and his show.

The next hour went by very slow, traffic got bad seemingly out of the blue. A semi truck and a sedan collided in the middle of the street, the cars creating black smoke in the air as parts of the car's parts were scattered along the highway. The street was lined with emergency vehicles, and the sirens blared. The scenery reminded her of a time when she was so careless, immature and vulnerable. Like a flip book comic, words and images flashed through her mind within less than two seconds.

It was one of those things that could be only seen in a movie or television show. Geralynn was a little stunned at this little flash, but she shook it off like nothing after a few seconds. It was just so strange to her, but she shrugged it off like nothing. Between waiting for the ambulances and police cars to leave, a tow-truck to show up to take care of the totaled cars and normal traffic to resume, it was about an hour and a half. 

In order to make to the venue in time for the show, or at least to see Frank for just a little bit before the show began, she would have to break the speed limit, but that was kind of illegal so she decided against that. She was pissed off to say the least. 

Frank called her shortly, asking if everything was okay, and that the show was about to start, she told him the reason behind the delay, and his protective side shined brighter than the sun, he must've asked her a hundred questions to make sure that she was okay, she assured him that he was, but he was still on the fence by the time the call ended. 

She was closer than she thought to the venue, so about twenty minutes later, she pulled into the parking lot of the hotel and walked about three blocks to the venue. A line of people stood outside of the door, dressed in winter clothing, and tickets in hand. Frank had told her to just walk up to the door, where she was greeted by the one and only, Cara Shaw. Cara recognized Gee from the pictures that she was shown, so she allowed her into the venue without any hassle. 

Cara pointed her in the direction that Frank's "dressing room" was, and said that she would find him back there getting ready for the show. Before she went back to see Frank, she ordered a scotch for him, then made her way through the almost empty tavern to the almost hidden door down a dark hall. She pushed the door open that had a sign that said,"Rehearsal". Frank stood next to a table, digging through a bag in search of something. 

He must not have heard the door open, as he didn't show any reaction. Gee took advantage of that, she leaned against the doorframe with her arms crossed. First, she cat called him, then she said ; "How much do you charge, baby? I feel like you'd be a good time." 

"What the fuck?" Frank squeaked and jumped, his back slammed against the wall when he stumbled over his own two feet. He was about to swing at whoever it was, but he soon realized that it wasn't some creep, it was his wife. "Gee!" 

"Hey, baby." She smiled as she walked towards him, her hands cupped his cheeks as she kissed him. His arms went down to her waist, holding her. 

"I charge $250 an hour, $50 extra for toys." He said, kissing her forehead, "but that's for tonight at the hotel."

Gee's cheeks burned a crimson, but she snickered at what he said. They both giggled and hugged, her chin on his shoulder, feeling his warmth. He held her tightly, "I'm so glad that you're okay, I would've gone insane if I didn't have you. Like, if that car would've passed and you were in that spot-"

"Hey, look at me, I'm okay, the babies are okay, nothing is going to happen to any of us, that includes you, mister. I'm sure the person is just fine, maybe a little banged up, but they're alive and well, alright?" She said as she looked into his eyes, then she grabbed his hand and placed it on her belly, "Three little aliens are still in there, swimmin' around and growing."

"It's just a little scary, you know? But like, have you felt them kick yet?"

"I think that they're sleeping. I felt little movements on my way in, but I guess unborn humans need to sleep, too." She sighed, looking down at her bump. "Before the ice melts, I brought you a scotch, and there's a lot of extra liquor in my car, just for you. Also, uh, remember how my doctor said he didn't think me staying with you for a few days wasn't a good idea until I got checked out?" 

"Fuck, I love you, so much." He kissed her cheek, then reached over to grab the glass. "Yea?"

Before Gee was able to say anything further, Evan came barreling into the room with his guitar around his neck. "Frank, the hell is taking you so long? We're late for our set." Frank tried saying something to him, Evan backed out with a pissed off expression on his face. 

Frank felt screwed, and Gee felt bad, but he was only a little late, nothing that would cause the club owner or the crowd to be upset over. He downed the strong liquor in one swig, and told Gee to follow him. He took his guitar off of a rack, she kissed him, and told him to kick some ass out there, he smiled at and hugged her, then walked off towards the stage as she stood on the side, where she would have a perfect view of the band as they preformed. 

When the show started, they opened with a newer song that Frank wrote, it was a cursed song with a twist of self hatred and lack of self worth, more than likely based on one of Frank's hardest times in his 28 years of living. They moved onto two familiar songs, a song he wrote after a night of stargazing, and during his last year of high-school when he nearly lost the love of his life. His eyes squeezed shut during each song, like the memories projected in the back of his mind and his heart poured into every word that he sang. 

Within the three years of marriage, Gee had never seen him like that. He was almost in a trance that brought along new emotions, emotions that he buried into those songs and every word. A handful of people throughout the crowd sang along to the songs, mainly Joyriding and a few of the other songs they put out initially. 

She sang along to the songs, and clapped whenever a song ended. During a break, Frank ran to the side of the stage to retrieve a bottle of water. He kissed her cheek before he drank a mouthful, then when he came back, he spit it in the air. 

When they neared the end of the show, Frank announced that they were about to play She's The Prettiest Girl At The Party, And She Can Prove It With A Solid Right Hook. He didn't start the song right away, 

"Seven years ago, I met my wife for the first time. We were at a party, and before I could even catch her name, she socked my ex in the face. It was then I knew that she would be my wife. I never realized how much I could love someone until I almost lost her, she was, and will always be the best thing that ever happened to me. This song is a little more special tonight, because she's here with us." As he said that, he looked over to the right side of the stage and smiled sweetly at her. In that moment, he felt like he had nearly everything. Nearly, three little beings weren't in his arms, but he had his wife and his dream right in front of him. 

When their eyes locked, Frank felt as if his heart was going to explode, he could see how proud she was of him, and that meant the absolute world to him. He fought back hot tears as the intro started.It could be heard in his voice, the emotion that wasn't heard before, so concentrated, so raw and pure. But those three and a half minutes seemed to be thrown away, the moment died for the rest of the band, but for two people, it stuck with them until the very end of the set. 

Though the set was over, it didn't end there. When Frank got off of the stage, Gee greeted him in the back room with a hug, she whispered how proud she was of him, and how much she loved him. He reeked of smoke, sweat, and a hint of liquor, but it didn't bother her one bit. The rest of the band interrupted them by announcing that it was time for them to load the equipment back onto the van, as they had more traveling to do the next morning. Gee, along with everyone else, helped load the van with the drums, guitars, speakers, etc. before they would all depart to the hotel just two blocks away. 

The boys wanted Frank and Gee to join them for drinks, as they didn't know about the pregnancy, but Frank kindly declined their offer, he said that he would rather catch up and spend some time with his wife, they were persistent on getting them to join, but they eventually gave up and left the two alone to do anything but what they led on. They did catch up, but just in other ways. 

The past can't be changed, but certain things in the past were meant to happen for a reason. Frank Iero couldn't be sure just yet, or could promise on his existence that the one thing in his past that was supposed to happen, was that party. The party always seemed to resurface, it was meant to protect Frank from not only getting cracked in the face, but from spending his life with someone that would break him, not make him the man who he is today. But for Gee, that was not the case for her, her past would resurface not in a way that Frank's did, it was something he didn't know about, and neither did she, but Donald, he would. He hid a part of her past in order to protect her then, and to protect her now.


	18. 3,2,1

Frank Iero Jr. was a man that got homesick easily. No matter if he was gone for a weekend at camp, a day with a friend, or a week for business, he always got blue knowing he wasn't home with the people that he loved. He was away for tour, with a month and a half to go, and he really had a bad run with being homesick. His heart ached for his wife & three kids, parents, and dogs. He loved doing what he was, but it would be a lot better if they were there with them. 

His wife knew that, and she had something up her sleeve that would relieve some of the blue that colored him. Before Frank was set to go on tour, the plan was arranged for Gee to be able to tag along with them and sell merch, but her OB thought against that, as he wanted her close in case of an emergency, or at least he could check out how the triplets are doing and if they're developing correctly, but she didn't like to play by the rules, instead she went against them. She decided that she would stay with Frank throughout the remainder of the tour, but would travel back to NJ to check on the house and attend doctors appointments. regardless of how far she was from her home state. 

Though, it wasn't the best idea to go against a doctor's order when it's involving a high-risk pregnancy, she knew that if the pregnancy could defy the odds of miscarrying within the first few weeks, nothing worse could happen at this point on. For god sakes, she was almost halfway through the pregnancy. If anything bad could happen, it would've happened already. 

Frank didn't know just yet about the new arrangement, Cara and everyone else knew, but they all promised to keep it a secret until Frank knew. Frank found out after a night with his wife, she told him and he was more than happy about the news, but was also a little concerned regarding the doctors appointments, to minimize his concern, Gee reassured him that she would make it to the appointments on time, and he made her promise a million times that she wouldn't miss them, no matter how badly she wants to stay with him on tour. 

Six weeks have gone by since Frank had left for tour, and Gee had been there for nearly all of it, but with some days that she was gone to check on the house or to attend a doctors appointment or meeting. So far, she had adjusted well to the life on said tour. It was gruesome, but that's how she liked it. She hated showers, unless they were with Frank, she could spend a lot of time with him, and she got to see him do all the things he loved. Though, sometimes when she didn't eat enough during the day with the chaos of setting up, she would get violently sick at night, she would be very nauseous, but starving and would constantly be on the verge of either puking or passing out, but it didn't bother her as much as everyone else thought, it just felt like a very bad hangover to her. 

Though, she was in her 19th week of pregnancy, which is almost five months, making her over halfway done with the pregnancy, she nor Frank told anyone else about the pregnancy as it would draw too much unnecessary attention towards them. so they limited the amount of baby and or pregnancy talk that happened out of their own private time. 

The band was in Corpus Christi, TX. They had just finished a show that ended at about 11:45 at night, but they didn't get back to their hotel room until 1:30, as they had other duties to attend to. 

Once the van was loaded and set for travel the next morning, Frank and Gee went up to their hotel room, while the band went in two other rooms. The room had a king sized bed in the middle of the room, white sheets folded neatly and without a wrinkle to be seen. The room itself smelled of fresh flowers and a hint of cinnamon, but the television had all of the basic channels, none of which were worth watching. The mini bar was filled with little bottles of vodka, champagne, and Bacardi 151, all ridiculously priced. 

"15 dollars for a little bottle of rum? Fuck, my dick is bigger than that bottle." Frank giggled as he closed the mini bar with a bottle of whisky and diet coke in hand. He sat the soda on the nightstand, then laid on the bed with his hands folded above his head, his body naked from his chest down to his waist, the only thing covering his body was a pair of navy blue Calvin Klein boxers. 

Frank had just gotten out of the shower, his body was nearly covered in sweat and grime. Showering on tour wasn't the easiest task, nor was it the most common. But he always managed to find a shower somewhere. 

"I'd rather pay that to see your dick." His spouse said as she walked out of the bathroom, wiping her wet hands on her boxers. She took a soda off of the nightstand, then climbed onto the bed so she was laying next to him.

"I wouldn't charge you a dime." Frank replied, moving so he was sitting on her lap with his legs on either side of her thighs, his hands held the bottle of rum. He took her bottle of soda and sat the both of the bottles onto the nightstand beside them, then he leaned down to kiss her, his hands resting on her stomach. 

Their noses touched as they kissed, she could taste peppermint on his lips with a hint of rum. he must've chewed some gum to mask the strong flavor. Her own hands went to Frank's side, holding onto his waist gently. He moved down to kiss her neck gently. 

"Fuck, I missed this." It came out as a sigh of relief, her hands caressed his sides lovingly. He agreed with her and continued on, he left marks on the side of her neck, and in the middle where an Adam's apple would be, all slowly turning darker. He lifted his head up when he was satisfied with what he did, their eyes locking. 

"Why don't we try and break the bed." Frank suggested as he bit his lip, he had an ornery look in his eyes, the one that never failed to turn Gee on. "I bought a box of condoms, It's been so long since we last did it. You wanna do it?"

She looked up at him and nodded, consenting to the act. They kissed more as the tension grew, their bodies radiated warmth as arousal peaked within each of them. Gee's hands went to his shoulders after time, pulling away from him so she could ask for him to lay on his back , he obliged and rested on the bed. He watched her with hungry eyes as she took her striped sweater off, revealing nothing but flesh underneath. 

Frank licked his lips as he looked at her, wearing nothing but a pair of black boxers and a dog chain necklace. A hum of approval was heard as she positioned herself between his legs, she kissed from his belly button, down the line of hair that trailed down to his dick, light brown and soft. 

"Fuck," The slur came from the back of his throat as he felt her grip his dick through the thin fabric of his boxers, the limb already becoming stiff just from the slight touch. Her fingers looped around the elastic waistband of his underwear, gently pulling them down, revealing a little bit of him with each little tug. 

Gee's cheeks burned as she saw it slowly become revealed, almost as if a fire ignited in her body and grew stronger and hotter as every second passed. The fabric was pulled down to his ankles, then pulled off and tossed to the side, they landed somewhere in the room. She licked the palm of her hand before curling her fingers around him, squeezing gently. Her hand moved up and down, jerking him off at a slow pace that gradually got faster. 

With every stroke, the limb grew in size and stature, veins popped out and filled with pure, boiling, red blood. 

Music began to play softly, the beginning chords of an old Nirvana song came from a speaker mounted on the wall that was connected to Frank's phone. She looked up to see him set the phone on the nightstand after turning the volume up a few notches, Frank smiled a little before bringing one of his hands down, running his fingers through her hair that had fallen in her face. 

She continued to stroke him until he couldn't get any harder. She looked into his eyes as she licked a stipe from the bottom of his balls to the very tip of his cock, savoring his taste. A wave of warmth shot through Frank, causing a low growl to form in the back of his throat, it turned into a quiet moan as she took the tip into her mouth, slowly sinking down until it met with the back of her throat. 

"That's it, holy fuck." His words solid, but with a breathless undertone that was caused by the pleasure taking over his brain like storm clouds. His grip on her hair became stronger, the pain made her moan around him, finding pleasure in the pain. 

Frank watched her as she bobbed her head up and down, twisting and using her tongue to massage the veins that were on the underside. Her hands were on his thighs to keep a steady balance. She could taste the salty fluid that leaked into her mouth, mixing with her saliva in a disgusting concoction. "Taste good, baby?" He asked and she moaned, her eyes locking with his. 

Eventually she pulled off with a pop, her lips shiny and red with saliva and her face was flushed . Her hand continued to jack him off, watching his skin move with her hand and precum spill out of the tip,. "That's it, fuckin' love your hand on my cock." He praised as he lit a cigarette, blowing the smoke down at her. She licked at the base of his cock, balls, and the tip, swirling her tongue around and sucking. 

Then it stopped, and she wiped her mouth with the back of her hand and jumped off of the bed, she went over to the packed duffel bag and reached for a condom what was buried with the mess of unfolded clothes. She found the golden foil packet underneath a pair of boxers, it was pinched between her fingers as she walked back over to the bed and returned to her previous position. 

Frank was quick to flip her around so she was laying on her back, he took the condom from her hand and sat it off to the side. His lips were pressed against her lower belly. His hands moved up her thighs as his mouth went further down. He stopped for a moment, he reached over and grabbed a un-tied tie, he insisted that she put it on. She trusted him, so she was quick to take the tie and wrap it around her head, covering her eyes as it was securely fashioned behind her head.

Frank's arms were soon wrapped around her thighs, and his hand was positioned right above her clothed cunt, tapping against her clit softly, then he rubbed the before he moved his head down, his tongue poked out and licked against her through the fabric, dampening it. She hummed and reached for a cigarette off of the nightstand, she didn't light it, she kept it between her lips for the taste that she desperately craved but couldn't savor.

He licked and he licked like there was a lollipop underneath the fabric. He looked up at her with his glowing eyes as one of his tattooed fingers slipped underneath her boxers and into her wet, warm, core. It didn't last very long as he ripped her boxers off and pulled her as he fell back on the bed, he pulled her closer and reached his head up to lick at her cunt. 

"Frank- oh fuck," she gasped in shock as it happened suddenly, but it ended in a moan as he vigorously rubbed her cunt with a stiff tongue. From the very bottom of her cunt to the top of her clit, he licked and sucked like she had the antidote that could save his life. 

Frank continued to lick her, finger her and bring her to the impending orgasm that was bubbling within her body, from the hairs on her head to the tip of her toes, she could feel a tingling burn within her. She came twice, she cried, rutted her hips and gripped at the sheets as if she would fall. A free hand of Frank's was behind her and below his waist, slowly jacking himself off to keep the erection that he had stiff, long, and pulsating. 

He pulled away for a moment, looked up at he in her post-orgasm glow and smirked. "Darling, why don't you sit on my cock? I'd love for you to ride me, I'm sure that you can come again. You're still soaking, dripping cum." His voice was low, almost at a purr. He licked another stripe up her, tasting the musky flavor of her cum. She whined and looked down at him, the cigarette stuck to her bottom lip with sweat, she wasn't going to argue with that, so she scooted down and reached for the golden square that was under Frank's leg. But Frank took the condom from her and put him on himself, then she moved up and took position. 

She was faced towards him, their noses inches apart. With one hand, he massaged her ass as the other was wrapped around his dick, jacking himself. He then pushed the tip into her, feeling her clench involuntary around him at the sudden intrusion, she slid back on his dick, her cunt enveloping it from the tip to his base.

"Ah, fuck-fuck-fuck." She cursed under her breath. Though not obvious, behind the blindfold, her eyes were screwed shut with pain and her hands were on his shoulders, her nails dug into his tattooed flesh. Frank kissed her lips as that awkward moment of adjusting died down and he could feel her relax into him.

His hands went to her hips, gently holding them as he felt her begin to move. She lifted herself up, then slammed herself down on him, they both made a loud noise of pleasure as the sensation tore though them. Gee soon found a steady pace, with her hands on his chest for stability. She soon sat up, her hands on his stomach as she rocked her hips back and fourth at a quickening pace. 

With her sense of sight gone, she relied on touch, scent, sound, and taste to fuel her pleasure. The feeling of Frank inside her, repeatedly poking at her spot deep within her felt so much better, stronger even than it would without the blindfold. She was just getting used to the newer feeling when Frank swung one hand down, smacking her ass. She cried out and winced at the sudden pain, her hips jerking. She found pleasure in the pain, it aroused her beyond all else and Frank knew that, Frank knew every little button to push to get her to her highest peak.

Frank grabbed a hold of her hips, stilling her motions. He picked her up and flipped them around so she was on all fours, she gasped as the position changed, but that changed into a moan as he pushed all of his cock into her in one swift motion, wasting no to time in picking up a steady pace. He smacked her ass as he fucked into her cunt. 

"Fuck. Fuck me, fuck me, fuck, Frank-" she moaned out, her hands gripping at the bedsheets tightly. Her black hair was matted down, warm and damp with sweat. "Harder, fuck me harder Ah!" 

"You love it, don't you? Being blindfolded, gettin' fucking pounded by my fat cock. Fuckin' tight, wet, I wonder if I could even..." he said, pulling out quickly and replacing his cock with two of his fingers, fingering her roughly, pressing against her spot harshly. 

She thrashed around, moaning and screaming as the knots in her stomach tightened. Frank had one hand on her back as he prodded at her cunt, "C'mon baby, give me what I want, make me happy."

The grip on the sheets became tighter, her hips grinded against his hand and shuttered, toes curling. The blindfold making everything she felt so much more intense, she could hardly think with the pleasure that took over her body. Suddenly, her body tensed as an orgasm raced through her body. She dripped onto the sheets, screaming and moaning as she came. Her third orgasm was far more intense than her last two, eyerolling- almost enough to make her pass out. 

"Fuck! Fuck, shit, Frank-" She cried, "I'm coming- holy fuck, I'm coming." 

"Good girl, fuckin come for me. So fucking hot," He praised, rubbing her clit harshly. Her cum spilled onto the sheets, pleasing Frank. Frank took his hand away, ripped the condom off and pushed back inside her, picking the pace back up that he had neglected. The overstimulation set in for the lady, making her hips shutter and she cried out, it wasn't long before he came, shooting his white, hot, thick orgasmic wax into her wet cunt. His body tensed and his face scrunched up in pleasure, the coils in his stomach burning out as the orgasm shot through his body. 

"Yes, fucking cum in me. Fuck." the woman below him said, her voice wrecked. A small moan slipped out as she felt Frank cum inside of her, panting. She felt empty when he pulled back out, his orgasm over. She then felt him untie the tie, and pull it off. Her eyes blinked a few times, adjusting to the blinding light. 

Then, they both cleaned up, dressing in nothing but a pair of boxers and a faded tee for each, they got extra sheets from the closet and made the bed, not neatly, just kind of threw the sheets on there and hoped for the best. They laid in bed with a box of pizza between them. Frank drank a beer, while Gee drank a bottle of one of those cheap, Starbucks drinks. It was past 4 A.M. by the time they got cleaned up and their food arrived. It wasn't the best idea for them, but they figured that it was in the middle of the night, almost dawn, so they wouldn't sleep, just pull an all-nighter like it wouldn't affect them in the long run, but they had Red Bull out the ass. 

"Hey, Gee," Frank started, cracking open another beer. "You didn't find out the genders of our babies, right? Like, did you get that weird probe inside your vagina?"

"No," she snorted, giggling. "I don't think it goes inside of me, I think it just goes on the outer part of my body. I was supposed to see him tomorrow, or later today, rather, but he canceled the appointment."

"Aw farts. Why?"

"I think a family emergency."

"Fuck that. Let's find a place somewhere around here, like a place where you can just go in and get the scan."

"Wait, Frank, I was going to go alone." 

"What? Why?"

"Since our anniversary is this weekend, I was going to like, intertwine it into your gift. Like, you can still come with me, but it just kind of takes the whole 'wow' factor out of the gift, you know?" she explained, picking at her nails. 

"Fuck, I don't know. Like, do I want to find out what my babies are now, or wait three days until our anniversary?" It was a dilemma, he wanted to know what the babies are as soon as he could, but he also knew that what Gee had in store was probably something really cool. "Gee." he groaned, dragging out the "E". "Your gift better be the best gift ever, like, it better suck my dick and tell me what my kids are." 

Frank knew he might regret not finding out earlier, even if it was just three days earlier. It's like having the opportunity to open a Christmas gift early or wait until Christmas Day, either way the gift would be opened, the same thing would come out of it, but some people just can't wait that long. But Frank chose to wait until their anniversary, and the gift to find out. Though, he thought that it may not be that big of a surprise because he really thought that he would be having three sons. 

For the rest of the night, they researched places that would be able to give the sex of all three of the babies. The majority of the facilities were sketchy or were in bad parts of Texas, however, they found one that was fairly close to the hotel in which they were staying at, it was a walk in kind of place, they didn't have to make an appointment to avoid all of that hassle. 

Frank pouted during most of it, he had his arms crossed like a child and watched Gee as she looked the various ultrasound labs near them. However, he perked up a little when they moved on from that and watched some AFV. No matter how upset he was, AFV always seemed to cheer him up. 

The morning came by quickly, but they didn't sleep, they laid in bed and watched the television as Tom Bergeron announced every skit that was playing. Frank rubbed her belly as they watched the television, waiting to feel one of the babies kick still. If he didn't know what they were, he still wanted to at least feel them. Still no luck, even though he knew that they could be felt between 16 and 25 weeks. She was almost at 18 weeks, so they should be kicking.

However, he felt something press against her belly, it wasn't a kick, it was a bigger object. He gasped and sat up , looking at her belly with his hand still on there. "Gee- I think I felt something." 

His hand pressed a little harder on her belly, where he thought her uterus would be, he continued to press and move his hand around a little, but he didn't feel anything else. He thought that maybe he scared the baby, or hurt it, so he went back to lightly touching. "C'mon, please move again." he whined, rubbing her belly a little. 

Gee watched him as he waited to feel one of the three musketeers kick or move, he looked a little sad that he couldn't feel them. "Frankie, maybe they're sleeping? Babies sleep too, like, It's always dark in there." she said as she sat up, turning the beside lamp on. 

"I have to piss." he groaned, getting off of the bed and heading towards the bathroom. "Gee, you left a hickey next to my dick, it's kind of beautiful." he said and she giggled from the room. She unscrewed the cap from her and took a long swig, and then she felt the babies. She felt one move, pressing against her uterus roughly. 

"Ow-ow." She hissed, nearly spitting out the coffee. Frank came back In the room then, adjusting his boxers. "Heartburn?"

"No. I think the babies like coffee." 

"Keep drinking!" He said, jumping back on the bed, returning to his position. His went back to her belly, she giggled and drank more coffee, waiting for the babies to move. He felt It again, one of the triplets pressed against her uterus. "Gee, I felt the baby! It like, touched my hand."

Frank was so excited to feel them, like he felt one of his children for the first time ever. He's seen them on the screen inside of the OB office, but he never physically felt them. Gee could swear she saw his eyes well with hot tears as he touched her belly, it was a moment of pure joy. Frank had one hand on the right side of her belly, while Gee had her own on the left side. 

The moment was truly sweet, Frank and Gee felt the babies move for another fifteen minutes before she ran out of coffee. They poked at her belly, they couldn't be seen from the outside, but they could definitely be felt. Frank didn't let go of her belly all morning, he would feel little kicks here and there, they were very small and gentle, they could be mistaken as heartbeats. They laid like that for hours, but until it was time that Gee had to leave for the ultrasound. Frank didn't want her to get up, but she said that they had to do it now, because later on they'd have to get the ball rolling for the show that night. 

Frank didn't leave her alone as she got dressed, when she was brushing her teeth, Frank stood behind her with his hands on her belly, waiting to feel the babies kick again. She found it cute, she found everything that he did cute. When she was ready and just about to get into her car, Frank came running out of the hotel, fully dressed but with one shoe on and the other in his hand, he hopped into her car, panting. He told her that he changed his mind about finding out what the babies were, and he couldn't wait the extra three days.

She asked him if sure about that, because it's one of the major things he's been waiting for in the pregnancy, but he was sure, but he knew what he wanted and he wasn't going to change his mind. So they went to the place, they both were excited and anxious about the results, Gee was mainly the anxious one, because it was obvious Frank was looking forward to having three sons, but that was only a 25% chance that it would be all boys. Though, she knew that Frank would love them either way, but he would be a little disappointed, just slightly. 

The lab wasn't far from their hotel, less than an hour drive in driving time. Once they arrived and got checked in, they were taken back to a room with a technician and Gee was laid down on a bed, while Frank sat next to her on a chair, holding her hand. The technician asked questions regarding the pregnancy, if it was a single pregnancy or multiple, if they wanted to find out the gender of one or all, just general questions. They wanted to find out all of them, and before the tech began with the ultrasound, they each took a deep breath, preparing themselves for this moment. The room was dark with only the screen, computer and a dim light illuminated the room. 

Ice cold blue gel was squirted onto Gee's tummy, then the probe was placed and pressed on the area, moving around the area in which her uterus is. She focused on one area, examining what they called baby A. It took her a few moments to get a good view on the baby, especially between the legs when there were two others in the womb. 

"Are you folks ready?" She asked and they both nodded. She pressed a few buttons on the machine and then stilled the probe. 

"The first baby, is a little boy. The other two babies are little girls, so you're having two girls and a boy." She said, scanning over the babies with the probe, allowing Gee and Frank to see for themselves. 

"Oh my god," Gee muttered looking at the screen, "Frank, we're having two daughters, a-and a son."

"We're having two daughters and a son!" Frank exclaimed, his voice louder and more ecstatic. He kissed Gee a million times on her head, making her giggle. "I love you, I love you, I love you," he said as he kissed her, smiles on each of their faces, their hearts full with love. 

"Congratulations."


	19. Jamia Nestor

Valentine's Day was a day for couples to celebrate love with cheap chocolates, champagne, and roses. Every year since they wed, Frank Iero and his wife always competed each other to give the other the better gift. Their first Valentine's Day together, Frank bought Gee a promise ring, and she bought him a signed copy of a Smashing Pumpkin's album. That was just the start of the night, after a night of movies at the drive in, they went back to Frank's house where his parents were out on a Valentine's Day weekend, and his brother Anthony was out with an ex. 

Though they knew Valentine's Day wasn't about the gifts, it was about love and appreciating who they were with. The corny, seemingly pointless holiday to many was a little more special to the couple. Their anniversary was on February 5th, nine days before Valentine's Day. 

After they got married, they chose to only celebrate their anniversary instead of celebrating them both at once, as their anniversary had a deeper meaning. Their first Valentine's Day was a first for them, it was special to them for a while, but then they got married and it was replaced. 

Gee wasn't Frank's first lover, before he met her, he loved someone else but he broke her heart in order to save his own. 

Jamia Nestor was that someone else, the woman with a broken heart that couldn't be fixed. Jamia never thought she would lose Frank to a girl everyone thought was a guy, an almost three year relationship thrown away for the life she could've had. 

She didn't expect them to walk back into her life in November of '09 with the news that not only were they married, but expecting three babies. With work and progressing her personal life, she forgot about Frank and what happened for years, it was almost like being smacked back down to Earth. Professionally, she couldn't deny them service, she really tried to put it aside for the fact of keeping up her reputation, but it got to a certain point In which she snapped on them. 

It didn't end there, her brother - Evan, was a member of Frank's new band, when Christmas time came around he was invited to Frank's mother's Christmas party, and he decided to bring Jamia along with him unaware of what occurred just a few weeks prior. The Iero's, after that night, decided that they didn't want to have anymore contact with Jamia, but that changed. 

\- 

It was the evening of February 5th when they arrived back from tour, after a month of touring a few states for the new album, Stomachaches that Frank and his band released about two months prior. Frank had another show before they left, it ended about two hours before they were due to arrive at the airport. They got on a plane in Dallas, and flew back to New Jersey just before 8 P.M. Gee took about four Xanax after they got their coffee from the Starbucks within the airport so by the time they took off, the drugs were kicked in and she was relaxed enough to not think that they would die on the plane. 

When they landed, she tried to trade shoes with Frank and touched his face a lot, he was used to that when they'd go on a plane because she required so much Xanax to fly, so it didn't phase him, he just continued to walk and help her out of the airport so she wouldn't wonder off and do the same thing to a complete stranger.

A taxi picked them up from the airport and drove them back to their home in Ramsey, the driver gave off a strange vibe as he didn't talk to either Frank or Gee, he just played old music and ignored them both. When they arrived at the house, the man basically threw Frank's suitcases on the ground and then drove off, Frank flipped him off as he drove away and before they walked into the house. 

Linda's car was in front of their house, presumably because she was watching the animals before she went back to her home for the night. The lights were on and the radio could be heard when they walked in. 

Mama, sweet pea and Mitch came running to the door, the dogs barked and Mitch meowed. Frank dropped his suitcases in the living room and dropped to his knees, playing with the dogs, scratching and petting them. They licked his faced and jumped on him, their tails wagging a mile a minute. Mitch rubbed against Gee's legs and purred, she got down to her knees to hold and pet the feline. 

"Mama, come back, you still need to - Frank, Gee!" Linda exclaimed as she came from upstairs, delighted to see her son and daughter- in -law. 

"Hey, Ma." Frank said, looking up at her from the floor, giggling. "I would hug you, but Mama and Sweet Peter won't leave me alone." 

Gee however, she stood up and greeted Linda with a warm hug. As she pulled away, she looked down at Gee's belly, seeing as it has become noticeably larger since they last saw each other, nearly a month and a half prior. "Have you felt them kick yet?" her voice was gentle. 

"Yeah, the bo- excuse me," she coughed, almost giving the gender of baby A away. "The babies have been kicking, yeah, they only kick when I drink coffee, so far."

"Good thing I put a fresh pot on, we'll go have a cup before I head over to Frank's place, he needs me to help him unpack and organize his new place." she said, motioning for Gee and Frank to follow her into their kitchen, their kitchen neatly put together and unpacked. "Hope you don't mind, Anthony, Frank and I made sure your house was clean before you two came home." 

"Honestly, if you didn't, neither of us would've. So thanks, also thanks for watching the animals." Frank added in, following them with Mama in his arms. He brought her into the kitchen to retrieve a treat from the treat jar, he also threw one over to Sweet Pea who followed him into the kitchen, used to the routine of getting a treat every time Linda went into the kitchen. 

"Happy to help." Linda smiled, she sat three cups of coffee on the kitchen table, along with a jar of sugar, and a bottle of dairy-free and regular creamer. She sat out a batch of muffins she made, Frank's favorite, banana nut. 

They all sat at the kitchen table, Frank discussed how tour went with Gee by his side, all of the interviews he had done, the places he visited, the songs he sang, the food he ate, nearly every gruesome detail about the tour. Linda told Frank and Gee what had been going on back in Jersey, with herself, Anthony and his family, and Frank's dad. 

In the midst of the conversation, Frank nearly gave away the fact they found out the genders of the babies, he mentioned that they went to a clinic because of them, but he caught himself before he said anything more. It sparked Linda's attention, she grew concerned because of the fact Frank wouldn't say anything. It caused Frank to panic a little, because he didn't want to reveal the genders to her, but he also didn't want to worry her. 

"Tomorrow night, uh, we're having a gender reveal party for the triplets! Uh, we found out yesterday." He blurted out, nearly jumping out of his chair. 

"On your anniversary?" Linda asked, confused. "I'm thrilled to find out the genders of the babies, they're my grandchildren, but that day is for you and Gee." 

"Did I say tomorrow? I meant April, April 23rd, silly me." 

"Frank, are you okay? You seem very frazzled." 

"Yeah, Ma. Fuckin' jetlag, tour really beat my ass." Frank said, his voice a tad shaky as he took another long swig from his coffee. "Hey, are the babies kicking?" he asked, placing his hand on her belly where he felt the triplets kick. She nodded and grabbed his hand, moving it to where she felt them. 

Frank felt them again, his heart fluttering and warming up. With the hand that was free, he motioned for Linda to come over, then he placed her hand over the spot in which one of the three- probably the unnamed boy was kicking. She smiled as she felt her grandchild move within her daughter-in-law. It was a moment neither her or Frank would forget. Again, Frank almost spilled the beans regarding the babies, but before he got a chance, Frank's dad called on Linda's phone. She seemed like she was in a hurry to leave, szhe kissed the top of Frank's head and told him that she'd call them soon as she ran out the door.

It seemed urgent, maybe his dad fell or he broke something important and needed Linda's help with fixing it. Or he was calling her over for something else. Gee still had that secret beneath her, the fact she caught Linda and Frank's father screwin' around before Christmas. She didn't want to tell Frank and get his hopes up on them getting back together, she wanted them to tell him when the time was right and they were official. 

After his mother left, Frank and Gee took their bags up to their bedroom, the bed was neatly made and the room smelled of sweet, chocolate chip cookies with a slight hint of cinnamon. Frank dropped their bags on the floor, and then jumped onto the bed. "I missed this fucking bed so much. It's so fuckin comfortable compared to those bunks." 

"I'll join you in a sec, I'm going to put all of these onesies in the nursery." She said, picking up a shopping bag filled with onesies. Frank had three of them made that had his band's cross on them, some with sweetpea, and some with Mama, but they were all personalized specifically for his kids.

She walked out of the room and into the dark hall, she found her way to the nursery that was down the hall and around the corner, being one of eight rooms in the long hall. She opened the door and flicked the bedroom light on. The cribs had a thin layer of dust on the wood, the sheets were dry and stiff, and the room felt incredibly cold.

The onesies were stuffed in a drawer in the tall dresser that the triplets would share, it was a cherry wood dresser with little nicks and scratches, must've gotten banged up in the move. There was a condom wrapper on the floor from before Frank left for tour, it reminded her of that day and all of it's events. From Frank screaming about a pile of screws to lure her upstairs, to the note she found taped to their front door with an oddly specific date and time scribbled on the front. 

February first, it's been nearly a week since the first, and nothing has happened, they're still alive, their house wasn't covered in eggshells and the inners of the egg, it wasn't on fire, or was anything stolen. It gave her a sense of relief that it was just a joke from a kid on the street, but something still didn't feel right in the universe, maybe It was the Xanax wearing off, or jet lag. After a good nights sleep, she would feel much better in the morning.

The light in the nursery was turned off, the door was closed and the note was crumpled into a ball. She stuffed it into her back pocket, and she made a note to discard the letter when she could. Before she went back to the bedroom with Frank, she went downstairs and snagged a bottle of Frank's favorite beer, and made herself a cup of coffee with girl scout coconut creamer.

Upon entering the master bedroom, she saw Frank on the bed, his clothes- including his Calvin Klein boxers on the floor. He had a portion of a throw blanket covering his manhood, and the three pets were around him on the bed. South Park played on their television. She tossed the beer over to him, sat her coffee on the nightstand. "I would be naked right now, like, without the blanket, but I don't want my dogs to see my junk, that's for mine and your eyes only, and you'll be seeing a whole lot of it tomorrow." 

"I'm already getting turned on just thinking about it. Actually, Frank,"

"Listen, I'm too tired for sex tonight, but you can totally jerk me off, just make sure you put the animals in the bathroom." Frank said in a suggestive tone, cracking open the bottle. 

"No, like, never mind. It's ugh," she groaned, drinking her coffee. Frank pulled her closer, her head on his chest and his arm around her shoulder. She could smell the beer, sweat and a heavy dose of his cologne, her pregnancy nose had been picking up every scent in what seemed like a 25 mile radius. "It's so, like, stupid. Before I got pregnant, I thought I was the second sexiest motherfucker alive, but I just, I don't get it. Why couldn't I have gotten pregnant after our anniversary?" 

"See, when I'm in the middle of plowing you, I don't notice your belly because like, that's for the dad and husband side of me to notice, plus I can't really see it when i'm behind you, so. I just focus on your pretty face, your body, above all else. I notice it a lot but you wanna know something? I find it like, beautiful, because my kids are inside there. Yeah, I probably shouldn't say that when I'm talking about fucking you, but, you know what I mean."

"Do you think it'll do much harm if I wore a corset? Like, to flatten my stomach. I've worn a few before. But it was a huge ace bandage." 

"Gee, like, you don't need one. Okay? Your body is just as beautiful now as it was before you got pregnant with the three musketeers. Like, it's taking a lot of self control just to not pop a boner right now." It came out as a sigh, "And your boobs are like, massive. I loved them before, and I love them now."

She smiled and kissed his hand, she felt better about herself after the words were spoken. Frank always did that, he always said the right things in the rough moments, as did she, one of the many reasons as to why they felt perfect for each other. But she knew that it would be a little more difficult when her belly would become bigger, or everything did, and after the pregnancy when she would be worn out after carrying the babies, and taking care of all three. She knew that their relationship would strain, it wouldn't be the same for some time, it scared her that knowing their relationship could be altered, but the fact they've been through a lot in the past four years of marriage kept her hope alive. 

Frank knew that she was feeling insecure, he knew that from the beginning that this would happen so it wasn't something new, but he would continue to remind her of how attractive he still sees her as, pregnant or not. 

\- 

The morning arose like any other morning in Jersey; birds chirped outside, the sun gleamed into their room warming the cold air, the snow melted on the sidewalks, the bitter smell of coffee filled the air as people struggled to wake up each and every morning. Frank was different that morning, he was wide awake early to make his wife's favorite breakfast, but he soon realized that the groceries that had been in his kitchen for nearly two months had spoiled, so an impromptu trip to the local supermarket wiggled its way into his schedule. 

Gee wasn't there to join him, she left a note on the counter stating that she had gone for a hike earlier that morning, and would be back before 10. It was a routine thing for her to hike, she loved hiking - Frank didn't care for it, he wasn't much of a hiker or runner, he preferred lifting weights. She would often go out for a full day on a hike, she used it as a way to think, take out anger or sadness, or just as a way to waste time. Her favorite place to hike was in a thick brush of woods just south of her home, it was quiet and no one else typically went there, it was like her spot where she could zone out for a few hours and dig up some good ideas buried within her brain in the silence.

Frank wondered why she went that morning, typically she would go during the evening after work or when she would become so frustrated with writers block or artists block, that she would just leave the house without a word and run off into the woods. It scared Frank when she would go out at night, as there have been bears spotted in those woods but she had always come back safe and unmauled. 

When he returned from the market, he saw her red corvette parked in their driveway, the exhaust pipe still gave off some heat, so she must've gotten home within the last half hour. His boots crunched the snow on the ground as he walked closer to the home, foot prints following him. He took hold of the bundle of mail thrown on his porch before he entered the home. 

He called out to her as he walked into the house and kicked off his boots, his voice echoed through the home. He didn't get a response from her, so he assumed that she was upstairs showering. With some time to spare, Frank set out everything he needed in order to make breakfast for his wife. It was tradition to make pancakes that had berries in the shape of a smiley on top with a little seed in the raspberry nose to mimic the funniest thing about a human body to Frank. A side of melon and various fruits, and a screwdriver, but this time it was a virgin mimosa with unflavored la Croix sparkling water, and a cup of her favorite coffee and creamer. 

A single black rose was placed on the tray as the finishing touch. Gently, he carried the shaky tray up the winding stairs in their home, he bit his lip as he carried it, with every little step he feared that he would drop it and ruin the morning. He pushed open the bedroom door carefully, seeing her on the bed with her notes right in front of her, a pair of thick black glasses sat on the bridge of her nose as she looked down, her hand writing quickly. 

"Good morning, Mrs. Iero." He said, a sweet smile on his face as he walked into the room. She looked up at him and returned the smile, her hand stopped writing when she looked up at him, their eyes locking together. "Hey, baby." 

The tray was brought over and sat on the bed in front of her, then he sat on his side of the bed and kissed her sweetly. He could taste her chapstick and a faint flavor of peppermint gum lingering. When they pulled away, Frank listed off what he had made for her, and insisted that she should eat after being out for that long hike. He put a movie on for them, the movie they saw on their first date and laid next to her, he took ahold of her notes and looked over then as she began to eat.

"Frankie, no." she whined, reaching to take it from his hands, "it's just a rough draft of an upcoming comic, that's all."

"Speaking of comics, Kelly left a message on our answering machine confirming your meeting with DC comics in two weeks." He reminded her, resting his chin on her shoulder. "You're going to blow everyone else out of the water. But darling, do you think it's a good idea to start this when like, you're nearly five months pregnant?"

"How hard can raising three babies be? They sleep all of the time, you just gotta feed them and swaddle them."

"I think, we should try that stupid class again." his voice was low, "Jamia probably blew over by now, like, she's gotta accept the fact I love you and not her. It's been like, 11 years." 

"I don't know, baby. I'm still kind of mad at her for what she did on Christmas, you know?" she sighed, she pushed the tray aside so she could sit closer to Frank. "I mean, we're adults, we're mature now, and we're gonna be parents soon." 

"No, " he giggled, "not me, at least. You're totally right, though. You know, after like, what Evan said on the bus, remember that night? I got to thinking, and I think that it would be a good idea to kind of, settle things with her? We know little to nothing about pregnancy, the birth, and after you give birth to them, and Jamia's the only one we can trust to teach us. She's like, the highest rated midwife in Jersey, I don't think anyone else can handle delivering three babies at once." 

Frank was right, not only was she a certified teacher, but also licensed to assist in the birth of babies. She had many awards given to her, recommendations, and the experience to be trusted in that situation, he trusted her enough to be there to help in the birth of his own children, he didn't want some stranger to do that, but someone whom he loved once upon a time and still loves. Frank also thought it would be a good idea to apologize to her because it would not only give him and his wife piece of mind, but it would save a protentional platonic relationship from going up in flames. 

Gee, she knew that Frank was right, but she also knew that there was a chance Jamia couldn't forgive her because she was the main reason as to why they broke up, though it couldn't hurt to try to be civil with her. 

When Frank brought the idea up, she thought that they would go in a few weeks, maybe months to visit her, but when he said that they would swing by before their dinner reservations that evening, she grew a little anxious. She didn't know what to expect with her, but she didn't know that it was their anniversary. It also confused her a little as to why Frank wanted to do it that day, he probably thought that it would be better if he got it done as soon as he could so they wouldn't get too behind in learning about the stuff they needed to before the babies arrive. 

They went on to get ready, the clock neared 5:00 P.M., the afternoon was spent in their room with movies on the television. At some point, Frank suggested that they take a walk and then they'd return home to freshen up before they met with Jamia, so they leashed up the dogs, and took them out with them. The sky was dark and cloudy, the air smelled of rain and a slight undertone of dirt, the best smell that could ever be in the air. Frank had Mama on a leash, Gee had Sweetpea, and their free hand held the other. 

When the pair arrived back at their home an hour later, they went back up to their bedroom and freshened up. Frank dressed in a black dress shirt, skinny black jeans, and his hair was fixed to the side. His wife wore a suit, it was a black vest, dress pants, a long white undershirt and a black tie, her pants fastened with a black leather belt with a silver buckle. They made sure that the animals had food and water before they left, the doors were locked and the lights were turned off. 

\- 

Jamia's office was located an hour away from where the Iero's lived, the sun had just began to set by the time they pulled in front of the building. The sky was the color of faded yellow, pink, and orange with a thick layer of grey clouds that masked the colors. 

They walked into the building and asked the receptionist if they could speak to Jamia, but she first had to page Jamia and ask if that was alright with her, she gave her permission to let them in, then they were directed to the office down the hall past the main room, or studio. 

One, two, three knocks were placed on the door, then a warm "It's open." followed shortly. Gee took hold of the doorknob and pushed the door open, looking at Frank and then Jamia, sucking In a sharp breath. 

"Hey, Jams," Frank said, his voice soft. "Can we sit?"

"Frank, Geralyn." she replied, her face had a blank expression, "Go ahead."

The two sat in chairs in front of her desk with their hands folded in their lap. There was obviously an awkward tension in the room, the last time either of them saw Jamia was on Christmas, it was a bad memory of a day that was supposed to be joyous, but Jamia let jealousy control her. 

"What brings you two in today? Shayna took you off the roster for this." Jamia asked, stopping her writing to look up at the two of them. "I would assume that you wouldn't anything to do with me."

Frank opened his mouth to say something, but Gee took that opportunity. "Jamia, I'm sorry, okay? I never wanted you and Frank to break up, hell, I never even knew that Anthony had a brother. But you gotta realize, Frank just..."

"I wasn't happy, Jamia, I loved you, choosing between you and Gee was the hardest choice that I ever had to make. You know that, you know I loved you and I never wanted to hurt you." Frank continued, he reached his hand out to hold Jamia's. "But you should know that I really love my wife, and we have kids on the way, it's not going to happen- nothing you could say or do could rip me away from that. I'm sorry."

Jamia stayed silent, like she was frozen in place. It was in that moment she knew that or wouldn't work out with Frank, if she really loved him, she would let him be happy with who he loved, even if it wasn't her who filled that role. She looked into his eyes, she saw the thing in then that she remembered, his eyes had this sparkle about them when he told what came from his heart. Her other hand went on top of his, and she sighed. 

"It's okay, Iero. I appreciate that you took time to stop by, but you didn't have to, I kind of got that. I'm sorry about Christmas, when the announcement came out that you weren't just having one baby, but three, jealously just spoke for me." 

"Gee and I want you in our lives, but you have to promise that you won't do any of that anymore, for the sake of us actually having a relationship." Frank said, pulling his hand away from hers. 

Jamia responded with a smile and nod. Frank saw the same thing in her eyes, when she was serious, her eyes did the same thing that his eyes did. Jamia apologized to Gee for what she said about the miscarriage, and said that she was happy for her and Frank that it worked out for them in the long run. 

"With that settled, we have to go, Jams, we have a reservation to catch. Thank you for understanding, maybe we can all go catch a bite to eat sometime." Frank said as he stood up, he smiled at her before he took Gee's hand in his. 

They said their farewells, but as Frank and Gee turned to walk out of her office, Jamia stopped them. "Frank, I know you didn't just come here to apologize to me. You need a midwife to help with the birth, I get it, but I can't do it."

"Jamia, I-"

"I don't think it's appropriate that I do that, but I can recommend you to another midwife," She continued and pulled a card from her desk, "Florence Welch, board certified in assisting in childbirth, pregnancy, newborn and postpartum care. She's a little pricey, but she's the best in the business."

"Thanks, we'll be sure to give her a call." Frank said, he accepted the card and put it in his pocket. "Jai, I didn't come here just to schmooze you into being a midwife for us, I wanted you to know that there shouldn't be anymore bad blood between us, we're all adults, we should be mature about this."

"Uh huh. We're almost 30, that's old. Can't go holding nearly 13 year old grudges." Jamia smiled back. The woman stood up from her desk, evened out her skirt then walked over to shake Frank's hand. "Good luck with everything." 

"Thank you, Jamia," Gee added as she reached her hand out to Jamia's. "I owe you one." 

\- 

After they left Jamia's office, they made their way to their favorite restaurant. The room was dark, but illuminated by tall wax candles and a burning fireplace on the wall, soft music played in the dining room. Vases filled with red roses sat in the middle of each table dressed in a white table cloth. The waiters wore tuxedos and the waitresses wore black dresses. 

Frank ordered a bottle of Lafite-Rothschild for the table, a glass of scotch for himself and a glass of lemon water for his wife . Dinner went well, they shared dessert that was decorated for the occasion, in strawberry puree, "Happy Anniversary" was written. 

An hour and a half went by before they left the restaurant, Gee had driven the two home as Frank was a little intoxicated and didn't want to risk getting a dui, but they arrived back at their house safely and just shy of 10 P.M. 

The pair went up to their bedroom, they each pulled out a bag of gifts for one another from places that they hid them. Gee was given a cross necklace made from pure silver, a signed copy of her favorite David Bowie album, and signed copies of every Star Wars book. Frank was given a green Fred Perry Parka, a package of guitar picks, a set of rings that were outrageously priced at $1,500 a pop, and a book. 

It wasn't just an ordinary book from Stephen King, or J.K. Rowling, it was a handmade book, classified as a scrapbook. In black writing, "10.04.03" was written on the front with "F & G" written under the date. Inside contained a pair of movie tickets from their first date, the condom wrapper Frank used the first time they did it, their wedding invitation, and finishing with the sonogram photos that showed the gender of all three of the babies. 

Various Polaroid photos were in the book, showing them age like fine wine from 22 to 28 years old. Over 150 pages in the book was filled with little things gathered from the years, wether it was something one of them said or did written, pictures, tickets from concerts, trips, everything that defined their relationship was pasted into a thick book. 

Ever since Frank was a child, he had received a lot of gifts in his life within the last 28 years of his life, from a bike that his dad neglected to put the wheels on, the best gift he had ever received was right in front of him. 

He hugged her tightly and kissed her almost a million times. He never expected anything like this, but she was an artist and just as sentimental as he was, but collecting over 11 years of memorabilia was something no one typically did, but he was so glad that she went that far as to do so for that long. 

Gee told him that she didn't know the right time to give it to him, because she started making it when they were planning to become pregnant for the first time; but they lost the baby so it the book became endless at that point, but then she became pregnant again so she believed that this would be the best time. 

Frank placed the book under his pillow to ensure that he wouldn't lose it before he could find a safe place for it. 

"I've said this a million times, you are the best fucking woman ever. I love you so much, more than I ever thought I could love someone, and I'm one lucky bastard to share my life with you." He said as he brushed a stray hair out of her face. "I know I didn't give you anything near as good as that, but I have one more gift for you."

"Oh?" With a cocked eyebrow, she looked at him, "for the record, you gave me the best gift three years ago; you. You've outdone me for years, darling."

"I might just have to do you again." He whispered. He reached over to his nightstand and flicked the light off, leaving the room illuminated by the moonlight and a few scented candles lit around their room. "Gee, one more thing," 

"What is it, baby?"

"Happy Anniversary, my love."


	20. “I Believe In Possibility”

Friday

march 21, 2010 

5: 30 A.M. 

"Frank." She groaned, her hands held onto her stomach. 

Frank sat at the island with a bowl of cereal in front of him, he scrolled through Instagram and hummed a tune. It was obvious that he didn't hear Gee from across the room, the tone of distress just flew right past him. 

"Frank," She said louder, another contraction tore through her body, it alone almost brought her to her knees. 

"Hey, Gee, what's up?" His attention was finally caught, he spun around on the bar stool to face her. He noticed the flushed look on her face and the giant wet stain between her legs. 

"I-I, fuck, I was out for a walk and I think my water just broke."

"For real?" He gasped in shock. "Holy shit, I'll go get the hospital bags. Should I call Florence?" 

"Yeah. I'll run upstairs and grab them, and new pants. I don't want amniotic fluid in my car." 

"You're not driving, holy shit Gee. You're going to wreck if a contraction hits, I'm driving and that's final."

"The hospital is five minutes away, my contractions are like, seven minutes apart, it's all good." Though shaky from the last one, she tried playing it off like they didn't bother her whatsoever.

"Remember in the Human Centipede when the pregnant lady gave birth, and then crushed her baby's head with the gas pedal? Unless you want to have baby brain soup in your car, you're not driving."

Gee groaned at that thought, she couldn't argue with Frank on this because she knew he was right, it could end very badly if her contraction started up again. Instead of arguing anymore, she went upstairs to retrieve the bags and change her pants, while Franks stayed downstairs and called Florence, their midwife. 

Florence advised them to leave as soon as they could, as her labor could progress rather quickly and the triplets could be in danger. Then, as soon as the bags were brought down, they were loaded into the car and the two drove to the hospital. Frank drove, and on the drive to the hospital, Gee's contractions became closer apart and more intense. 

At the hospital, Frank helped her from the car and into the building, his face gleamed with excitement. Gee was more uncomfortable than he was, she was excited but with the intense pain she felt every seven minutes, she found it difficult to be comfortable. 

A nurse dressed in a white dress, white heels and a white headband with a red cross in the middle greeted them. Her blonde hair was neatly styled and black glasses rested on her face. 

"Hi, can I help you?"

"I'm uh, I'm pregnant with triplets and my water broke like, an hour and a half ago." It caught the nurse's attention, she pulled out a chart and came out from her area behind the desk. 

"How far apart are your contractions?"

"Four minutes, fuck-fuck-fuck, holy shit." A string of curse words spilled from her mouth as another tore through her like a chainsaw gone haywire. 

The nurse asked her what seemed like a hundred questions as they were led to a room on the Maternity floor of the hospital. Gee was given a hospital gown to change into, and from there, everything accelerated at an alarming speed. 

She was whisked away to a labor and delivery room where lights shined a blood red, and she was alone, tied to a single bed in the middle of the room as this unbearable pain tore through her, she felt like her voice was muted, no matter how loud she tried to scream, or plead for help, nothing came from her throat. It was like her voice box had been ripped from her throat. 

Her body was drenched in sweat, she struggled to break free from the restraints but they seemed to be unbreakable, no matter how hard she pulled or moved, they wouldn't loosen their tight hold on her wrists. The pressure and pain she felt in her lower body was nearly paralyzing, hot tears spilled from her eyes as she tried to scream but couldn't even produce the quietest of a whisper. 

It felt as if the minutes were hours, and the hours felt like days. For what felt like an endless amount of time being in agonizing pain and in the premise of pure torture, the pain suddenly stopped. The twisted and warped lullaby being sung was cut by the blood curdling sound of the three babies crying. 

Through burning, blurry sighted eyes, the woman watched the nurse dressed in white, push the newborns away in a hospital bassinet for newborns. Not a word was uttered from the woman, she slowly walked out of the room as the babies screamed for their mother-

*Gasp*

Gee was awoken from the nightmare with a gasp, her hair and body drenched in a thick layer of perspiration. It was dark in the room, she quickly sat up and looked around for Frank as she panted, her breath taken away by fear. Her trembling hands felt around the bed for him, but she felt nothing. Then, she remembered that he was downstairs in their basement working on songs with his friends, they were pulling an all-nighter to practice for the upcoming show. 

The light next to her bed was flicked on, she looked down and left her stomach, after that awful dream she needed to be sure that it wasn't real. The dream she thought, the dream was so realistic and vivid that she needed to know that she still had the three babies inside her. 

"Fuck," She muttered as she relaxed into the bed with her hand on her belly. "Stupid fucking dream." 

She took a few moments to gather her thoughts and catch her breath, then she went into the connecting bathroom to wash her face with cool water. Then, she made her way out of the bedroom and to the basement, she found Frank, Evan, Matt, Alex and Steve, all with an instrument playing along to Blood Infections. 

Frank made eye contact with her as he sang and strummed along on his guitar, he saw her leaning against the doorframe with her arms crossed, looking over at him with a tired look in her eyes that matched his. His third Red Bull was wearing off, he needed a pick-me-up soon or he would crash on the studio floor. 

Blood Infections ended within a minute or two, and instead of moving on to the next song, Frank told the band to take five. His black and pale yellow guitar was sat on a stand next to him, then he made his way over to Gee, he kissed her forehead gently and hugged her. 

"Did we wake you?" He asked. "Gee, darling, you look like you've seen a ghost- or worse, a spider. " 

"No, It was just an awful dream." Her voice was low, a glimpse of the nightmare flashed in her mind. "Wanna get some coffee?"

"Yeah, I'll meet you upstairs, I should set up for the next song." 

"That's fine, I'll just, I'll get the coffee ready." She said. Frank kissed her once more before they parted ways, he went back into his "studio", and she went upstairs to their kitchen. 

Mitch followed her, he weaved between her legs as she brewed the two cups of coffee, and he sat on her lap when she sat at the kitchen table. She waited up there for him with a cup of coffee and a bowl of mixed berries. 

Fifteen minutes or so passed before Frank came up. He sat across from her with his mug that was stolen from the Waffle Spot, listening to the gruesome details of his wife's nightmare about labor. Gee was a storyteller, a writer, she knew the right words to use when describing something like a nightmare. 

"-and she just, left with them. Their screams were so loud and they sounded hurt, and scared, an-and I couldn't do anything to save them, Frank, I couldn't save them." 

"Baby," He started, his hand reached out to grab hers. "It was just a bad dream, there's no way a nurse could escape a hospital with three screaming babies. Hospitals have a lot of security, and I think they have like, an alarm on their little ankles that go off when they leave the hospital, kind of like those tags on a shirt."

"I know that, but god knows that a nurse can do. Remember in that one movie? That lady just gave birth and the nurse sliced that son of a bitch off." Gee said. "I haven't had his fucking dream in months."

"Nothing will happen to our kids, alright? They'll be by us for every second that we're in that hospital. " he reassured her, his hand still held hers.

Frank told her that he would be done with practice in about an hour, and he would be back up to their room in a bit. He recommended that she went up to their room with a cup of tea as she had a big day ahead of her, as her meeting with Claudia was just hours away.

A cup of grey tea was brewed and taken up with her, she sat on the balcony just outside of her room and watched the sunrise over New Jersey. Mitch joined her, he sat next to her and stared at the occasional bird that flew past the balcony. 

Frank came up in a bit, a blanket was brought with him and they sat together on the balcony with a blanket draped over their shoulders. They drank their coffee and watched the sun, it eased any tension that Frank or Gee might've felt in that moment of time. 

Time seemed to fly by as they sat there, taking in the view of the glowing sun above New Jersey. The clock ticked and ticked until the small, shorter arm rested above the IV, it meant that Gee's meeting was just an hour away.

As she dressed herself in her lucky suit, Frank gave her a few words of encouragement to boost her confidence. He told her that he believed that she would get the job, and if she didn't by the slightest, most minuscule chance, he would still be very proud of her. 

Frank straightened out her tie for her and the kissed her nose, "Go kick some ass, baby. You'll be the face of D.C. comics in just a few hours. I also want you to remember, if you choose to like, push the meeting back because of the three hobbits arriving soon, that's just fine."

"I hope, I've been working towards this since I was a teenager. Frank, this could be my chance. I'm already like, uh, 22 weeks along? Ha, strange, five or so months ago, two of our cells fused together and split three different ways and bam, there's three babies in my uterus, they make me puke nearly every morning bu-"

"Gee."

"Oh shit, right, the meeting. Kelly would certainly kick my ass if I'm even like, a minute late. I love you, Frank. " 

"You're adorable," He giggled, then kissed her forehead. "I love you more, now kick some D.C. ass for me." He said as he slapped her ass. She gasped at the sudden action, her cheeks flushed pink. "I'll see you at the doctors office."

"I'll try. I really will, either I become a new writer for D.C., or I'll be a huge disappointment to the babies inside of me."

It was a joke, Frank knew that, but there was some truth to that. Gee thought that her children would think it was super cool to have a mother that's a comic writer that wrote about superheroes and space, and a father that tours around the U.S. that sung his heart out nearly every night. However, they both knew that things would turn out for the best after this meeting, and if it didn't, Gee had a nice surprise to come home to. 

He watched her with a cup of his favorite coffee as she left the house, then through the window to see her get In her cherry red corvette and drive off down the street. Once she was out of sight, he left to go back down to the basement. 

\- 

The day was March 21st. A month and a half had passed since Frank and Gee returned back to New Jersey. The day overlapped with a day that would change the direction of Gee's life, it was the meeting with Claudia, a woman who worked for D.C. comics and recruited new, aspiring and very talented comic book writers. Though she had been preparing for years for this, she crafted many sketches by hand, searched through every place in her brain for ideas, and spent four years in New York for that day. 

Gee was very excited about this, an interview that would determine her fate, but with that in mind she was very nervous as well. Since she had an appointment with her obstetrician later that morning, she couldn't pop a Xanax to relieve that lingering anxiety. It was almost like she was about to board a plane, but she didn't have to worry about the office building exploding or falling 30,000ft from the sky to the Earth. 

The office building for D.C. was less than an hour away, it was across the New Jersey border and into New York, Manhattan specifically. 

It was a tall, 38 story, silver building with "D.C." engraved in big letters on the front. The lobby inside had a Superman theme, red furniture, blue carpet and a large statue of the beloved superhero.

A woman, strawberry blonde, short, Shirley temple styled hair sat behind the desk with the Superman logo on the front greeted Gee as she entered the building, her suitcase and laptop bags in hand. She checked in with the woman that bared the name Amy. Amy checked her in and told her that the meeting was on the 27th floor of the building. 

Wonder Woman, Superman, Aquaman, and every superhero / villain that D.C. created, was encapsulated by the elevator's metal walls. It was a mural that Gee found to be absolutely breathtaking, all of the characters she grew up reading was right in front of her. She snapped a few photos to show Frank once they met up later on. 

One last ding in the elevator, and she and a group of other formally dressed people exited the elevator. Gee walked down the hall until she found the plaque that read "Claudia Banks, CEO". in gold letters. Her hand knocked the door, then it was opened by a woman in a white pantsuit with a black undershirt. 

"You must be Geralyn." Her smile was warm, welcoming. "Come on in, I've heard so much about you. You can take a seat, my partner will be joining us shortly. Can I get you a cup of coffee?"

"Yes, please." Gee replied, flashing a sweet smile at Claudia. "Your office is beautiful, I've never seen a office with so many comics, other than mine."

"Quite a collector, huh?" 

"Definitely. Comics, books, action figures, records and box sets."

"Do you have a particular interest? Like, what kind of comic series do you prefer?" Claudia asked. She handed Gee a black mug filled with coffee as she sat in her leather seat. 

"Star Wars, uh, D.C, Marvel, basically anything. I uh, I read a lot of manga too."

"I could tell that one of your favorites is Star Wars, based on the samples your agent sent me, there were a lot of call backs to the original comics."

"You're a very talented writer, Miss Way."

"It's Iero, I'm married. But I'd rather be branded as myself , because my career is mine and my husband has his own career. I love my husband and all, I'm proud to share his last name, but I worked for this."

"Independent woman, I see." It was a praise, as Claudia thought that it was good to know that some women chose to be their own person, and not who they were as a married woman. 

Gee and Claudia seemed to hit it off right away, it was more so getting to know each other rather than the actual interview, as Claudia was waiting for her partner to come in before the meeting began. Claudia apologized for the time he was taking to make it to her office, but after about a half hour, he came walking in. 

The man was nearly 6' tall, he had black hair, a lip ring and he had a slight 5 o clock shadow. Gee knew him as the man who gave her a shiner just months prior, that face was embedded into her brain.

"Good morning, Ladies. I'm sorry that it took me so long, I got caught up in some paperwork."

"Geralyn, I would like for to meet my partner of three years, Matthew Cortez."

"No need to introduce me to him, I already know who he is." She said in a polite tone, she looked at Claudia and then glared over at Matthew.

"Wonderful. Then the meeting will get started, you Matthew will go up to his office as he will be the one conducting the interview." 

"Wait, I thought you were?"

"No, I'll be reviewing the transcript and paperwork Matthew fills out. Don't worry, Matthew is a great judge of character with a squeaky clean background."

Gee nearly laughed at what Claudua said, she couldn't be talking about the Matthew that she once knew, the man who gave her drugs in exchange for sex, the man who snatched her virginity after a night of boozing and getting high as a kite. Matthew wasn't an angel as Claudia portrayed him to be, and Gee knew nearly every dirty little secret. 

Claudia left her office, then Matthew and Gee soon followed. The walk to Matthew's office was awkward because every time he said something, a flash in her mind of him doing those horrible things to her echoed through her mind. She kept them mute by thinking that she was supposed to remain professional and not think of him as the scum bag he really was. 

When they got to Matthew's office, he sat behind his desk and she sat in front of it. His office had a dark, modern theme to it, almost like a Christian Grey kind of style. He offered her a glass of water, but she declined in fear that he might've slipped something into it. 

Matthew tried to make small talk, but she was more focused on getting the interview over with so she wouldn't have to be near him longer than she had to. He caught onto that, and straightened himself out to avoid any arguing or the potential to lose her as an employee. 

"Gee-"

"Don't call me that. It's Geralyn or Miss. Way." She scoffed, her voice soft and calm.

"My apologies. But as I was saying, everything looks beautiful on your resume, I also read your sample comic and transcript." He continued, "I would love to hire you, but I can't help but notice that you're pregnant. Working for us would require a lot of time dedicated to publishing comics, attending meetings and conventions, it's a very involved job that won't be easy to manage when you have a new baby."

"So, you're denying me employment because of the fact I'm knocked up? If it was your child, we wouldn't be having this conversation, sir." She said with a cocked eyebrow. "Listen. If you're not going to give me a job because I'm expecting triplets-"

"Miss Way, I never said you couldn't have the job. I need you to prove to me that you can handle the responsibility of a job while adjusting to-"

"Hold the fuck up." She interrupted him. "If you've been here for three fucking years, why did you come to my husband's company for a job?"

"You know exactly why, Kitten." His voice was slick like an icy road, a smug look was plastered on his face. "Of course I never intended to show up to the interview, it was the only way a security guard would let me in." 

"All you had to do was punch his fucking face and his stomach." She scoffed, "you coulda caused me to lose my unborn kids, you know." 

"But I didn't, I wouldn't do anything to hurt you."

"Mhm. Well, I'm leaving now. Thank you for the time, but I have to attend a very important meeting with my obstetrician." 

"Already letting parenthood get in the way of your career, I'll make sure to put that in your file."

"Matthew, you know what? I've been working towards this for nearly 10 years, you better not screw this up for me because you don't think I can handle it."

"You know, Miss. Way, there's one thing you can do for me that will certainly land you a job."   
\-   
"Lift your shirt up, my dear." Emmet said with a bottle of blue ultrasound transmission gel in one hand. "Are you planning on finding out the sex of the babies today?"

After her meeting with her ex boyfriend who somehow ended up being a manager at D.C, Gee made her way to Dr. Cahill's office for a routine check up, ultrasound, and estrogen booster. 

Frank caught up with her after taking the train from Ramsey to downtown Belleville, he brought her a cup of her favorite coffee from their local coffee shop as a pick me up after the meeting. He didn't know quite yet about who conducted the meeting, but he would soon know once they arrived back at their home with the intention of getting cleaned up for a dinner with another ex.

"Nah, we already know." Frank said.

"When did you find out? The last time Mrs. Iero was in, it was far too early to determine the sex."

"Well, uh, I went with Frank. I know you told me not to, but it was only for like, a week. Since the appointment with you was canceled, we just found a lab where they did ultrasounds and we found out."

"Geralyn, you're lucky nothing happened to your babies, most obstetricians don't know much about triplet pregnancies. Especially if you're traveling across North America, it's like looking for a needle in a haystack."

"I know. It won't happen again, not until the babies are born."

"Speaking of the birth, we should get your c-section scheduled soon, it'll work out better if it's scheduled a head of time." Emmet said as he squirted the gel onto Gee's belly, he used the probe to smear it around.

"A c-section?"

"We cut into your uterus to remove the babies. A vaginal birth would be too risky for you, not only could you lose a lot of blood, but your babies could get stuck in the birth canal. A c-section does have risks as well, blood clots, and it could affect future pregnancies." He explained. "Are you planning on having anymore children?"

"Jeez, uh, we've just been focusing on these three. I didn't think we'd have to consider that while I'm still knocked up." 

"I'll leave you both to discuss it. I'll be in Texas for a conference next month, so try to get a hold of me before then."

"Alright." Gee sighed, her arms crossed under her head as a makeshift pillow on the very uncomfortable bed. "How're they lookin', doc?"

"They look very healthy. One of the female babies is a little bit smaller than her siblings, but it's nothing to be worried about. From head to toes, they're measuring at about 14 inches long and are each 3 pounds, pretty normal for a pregnancy at 25 weeks."

"They're getting so big!" Frank cooed, his heart igniting within his chest. "So when is her due date?"

"Well a due date is just a rough estimate, but seeing as they're developing rather quickly, we're looking at July 10th." 

"Holy shit. That's like a whole month earlier, why though?"

"It seems that your unborn children are developing quicker than a normal fetus. Multiple pregnancies tend to progress quicker than a single pregnancy. The original due date was set when we believed that your wife was carrying only one baby, since then we have been just monitoring the pregnancy."

"So you're tellin' me that my kids could be here in like, three months?" 

"Yes. Maybe less, triplets usually arrive between 33 and 40 weeks gestation." He continued. "Do either of you have any questions regarding the pregnancy?"

"Uh, so like, after like, sex or whatever, I get these weird cramps and shit. They started like, three or so weeks ago, and they don't just happen after sex, they happen spontaneously sometimes." She asked, her cheeks tinted pink as she fixed her vest.

"Do they feel like menstrual cramps?"

"Uhh. Yeah?"

"Those are called Braxton Hicks contractions, they're harmless and just prepare your body for the real deal, like once you actually go into labor. Just kick your feet up and breathe deeply until they subside, you'll know if it's real labor, but you're still in the second trimester, nothing to worry about."

"Cool. So can I leave or..." 

"Yes. I'll call you in two weeks to check up on you, and we'll schedule your c-section." The doctor said, he shook both of their hands and then left the room. 

There was a moment of silence in the room, Frank was overcome with excitement at the thought of the babies being born earlier, while Gee was nearly crippled with fear as she thought about a c-section, it reminded her of the nightmare she had the night before. 

Frank picked up on that, he knew that she was thinking about seeing her guts spilled out on a metal table and that blonde nurse talking their babies away. As they walked to their car, Frank reassured her that nothing would happen to their babies, and they would think about the pros and cons of a c-section.

Gee wasn't a child anymore, she didn't believe in ghosts or monsters, but nightmares still scared the life out of her, especially something as realistic as a nurse swiping her children away like they were her own, and Gee was just a surrogate body for them to grow and be nurtured in. Though, she needed to think about this on a day in which her mind wasn't so...filled. 

On the drive home, Frank asked about the meeting. Of course she explained how it went, and that Matthew would give her a call within the next week if she got the job, she mentioned how Matthew didn't believe that she could handle the job because she was about to have three babies. 

Frank understood where Matthew was coming from, it would be very difficult to juggle a busy job and caring for three newborns, but he wouldn't tell his wife that she shouldn't go for her dream regardless. She would be working from home from what it seemed, she and Frank would be able to take care of the children no matter the work load, and besides, newborns sleep nearly all the time

The topic was sort of dropped on the way back to their home, just a half hour away from the office. With an added ten for another stop at a favorite coffee shop.

When they returned home at around 3:45 in the afternoon, something on the porch caught Gee's eye. It was a light brown wicker basket, filled with a mix of pink and blue clothing, and supplies for a baby that new parents would most certainly need, like baby powder, soap that was formulated for infant skin, and lotion that was supposed to make them sleep easier. 

While Frank checked the mail, Gee ran up to the porch to retrieve the basket. On the handle of the basket, rested a note that read, "To my daughter, and three grandchildren. - D." In gold ink. 

She automatically assumed that it was from her father, but he wasn't one to write in gold ink, and he would've signed off with "dad" instead of a simple letter. Then she thought about Debbie, Frank's girlfriend, but she didn't know about the pregnancy and nor would she address Gee as her daughter. 

Though, she would still call her father and bring it up, just Incase he knew who might've sent it. The only other person that crossed her mind was her mother, Donna, but she had been dead for over 20 years, unless she rose from the dead without telling a soul, she surely wasn't the one who sent it. 

Frank asked her who it was from, she told him that it was either form her father, or her mother that's been dead for over 20 years. In the moment, it was sort of shrugged off because the possibilities of her mother either faking her death, or miraculously returning from death was very slim to nothing. 

Gee would still talk to her father about it, he would know most about it if Donna actually did send it. How it was possible? She had no idea, Mikey didn't either, but Donald? He might.   
-  
With nothing more to scratch off of their to-do lists, the duo chose to make the night a night for themselves.

Gee went into her office, put A Night At The Opera on her turntable, made herself a cup of her favorite coffee, and drafted a few more pages for her comic. Frank, he took both dogs out for a walk around the neighborhood.

With Frank gone, Gee got the sudden urge to search her mother on the internet, with the off chance that a profile on any social media would match her, if she even did fake her death like Frank implied. Now, Gee didn't remember very much about her mother and what she looked like, the only things she could remember was her name, Donna Lee Rush - Way. 

Her full name was typed into the search bar, and the first article that came up was a news report of the accident. She knew how her mother died, it was no surprise to her, but a part of the article was in fact a surprise. It stated that the suspected corpse was Donna, but the body was charred beyond recognition, but the car near the body was registered as Donna's vehicle, and the other driver was identified. That alone made her heart drop into the pit of her stomach, because that opened the possibility of her mother actually being alive for all of these years. 

As she searched more, on sites such as Facebook and Twitter, she began to find breadcrumbs to who might be her mother, but soon came to a dead-end when she seemed to be running in circles with the searches. Gee didn't expect to find her then and there, she didn't even know if she could be found. 

"Gee, I'm back." Frank announced. He walked into her office, his shoes stomped on the hardwood flooring. 

"Oh, hey. I was just, Uh, I was-" she was startled a bit, her attention snapped away from her computer screen. 

"Gee.. were you watching porn?" He asked, intrigued with what she was doing. "Some girl on girl action, guy on guy, furries..."

"Furries? What the fuck, Frank." 

"Ha! You didn't deny it."

"I'm not watching porn." She giggled as she spun around to face him. "I'm just, looking to see if there's any possibility that my mother is still alive."

"Have you found anything?" 

"Well, the article about the accident said that one of the bodies weren't identified, and was believed to be Donna, but they never really, like confirmed it."

"But she had a funeral, right?"

"Yeah, but it was a closed casket so like, we couldn't see who was in the casket."

"Gee, your mom could totally be alive right now. God knows what she's seen, like a where's Waldo in our lives. She could've been at our wedding, but we just didn't see her." 

"I sure fucking hope not." She groaned, clicking out of the tabs she had open. "Say she actually did fake her death, I would never want to see her again. She abandoned Mikey and I, he was just a year old."

"Maybe we shouldn't talk about this right now. It's upsetting you and the stress isn't good for the babies. I don't want any of you four to be upset."

"I know, Frankie, but like, if this is true, I've been living nearly my whole life with the thought that my mother has been dead and she might not be."

"Well no offense, but she's a fuckin prick if she actually faked her death to get out of the responsibility of her family. Well, maybe that wasn't the case, but it's certainly possible." He sighed. He kissed her forehead and cupped her chin. "Darling?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you want to find her? Because we can hire someone to find her, it would be much easier." His voice was soft.

"I don't know, I guess it would help if she answered something's and kind of, explained herself."

"You can always change your mind. After our meeting with Florence, we can look up some people who do that kind of stuff." 

"No one else should know about this until she's found, or if she's found."

Frank promised that he wouldn't tell another soul about this, as neither of them were sure if they were going to go through with trying to find Donna. 

Gee never thought she would have to worry about having to track down her dead mother, but she never thought that she would become pregnant with triplets, or pregnant at all for that matter, or married, basically she never thought she would have the life she had. 

Anything was possible, becoming pregnant with three babies, marrying the love of your life after a rollercoaster of events, a dead mother returning after 20 years of a suspected death. Those things happened in stories, movies, and television shows, Gee knew that things like that never happened in anyone's life in the real world, but she also knew that anything was possible in this universe.


	21. Florence Welch

A name is what identifies a man, woman, and child as someone. Names can have many different meanings, Frank is an Italian name that means "Freedom", Geralyn comes from  
Germany, meaning "Ruler". 

When a baby is born, it's parents have a difficult time choosing a name for someone that means everything. For expecting parents, Frank and Gee, that trouble and stress was tripled, making it harder to find three separate names for children they knew deserved everything good in the world. 

As those delicate, beautiful, innocent children grow up and face the challenges and hurdles in life, their name doesn't do them justice.  
\- 

The day was April 4th, 2010. Not a word was heard back from Matthew since the interview, which made Gee's anxiety flare up in a way she didn't like, she chewed her nails and snuck cigarettes when Frank wasn't around, the craving for nicotine was too strong to disregard in general, not hearing back from Matthew or Claudia, and the possibility that her mother might still be alive just pilled onto that like a tower of Jenga, just waiting to topple over. 

Since the beginning of the pregnancy, Gee regularly smoked cigarettes when Frank wasn't around. She knew that It was bad for not only herself, but her unborn children that swam inside of her uterus. Frank, unaware to her, knew about it, he knew that a chain smoker like her couldn't give up cigarettes for nine long months, he was fine with it just as long as his babies were healthy. 

It was a few times a week that she smoked, it was barely enough to tie her over, but it seemed like the safest amount that she could smoke during the pregnancy. 

She stood on the terrace just outside of her bedroom with a thin, white and brown colored stick between her lips, the bitter nicotine flavor coated the inside of her mouth, so satisfying. Frank came up behind her, lighting his own cigarette. 

He startled her, making her jump slightly and then around, hiding the cigarette behind her back. "Frank, I can explain-"

"Don't get your panties in a twist, I know you've smoked for the whole pregnancy." He sighed, "Just be careful, no more than a pack a month."

"You've known? I swear I'm back in high school, hiding my smoking habit from my dad." 

"Yeah, I knew you couldn't give up smoking for nine months. Hell, you can barely go a half hour without one."

"Right." She sighed as she took a long drag from her cigarette. "I can't help it, I smoke a lot of fucking cigarettes and drink a lot of fucking coffee, and it sucks."

"You might not want to mention that to Florence, she'll definitely criticize you on that."

"Shit," she muttered as she looked down at her watch, "she's going to be here any minute. I better put a pot of coffee on."

Florence Welch, the woman Jamia recommended to them as a midwife, was due to arrive at the Iero home in a matter of minutes. It was almost like an interview, Frank and Gee would decide if they want her to assist in the birth of the triplets, pre-natal care, and other things they might need to know before they're due to arrive. 

Frank, and Gee did a bit of research on Florence, read some reviews on other mother's experiences with her, and the majority of them were positive, the only downside was her price. They weren't sure of the price, but they were sure that Florence would mention it at some point or another during their meeting. 

Three matte black cups, a plate of Oreo cookies, and a smaller bowl of green grapes for herself, as Frank insisted that they would be better for the babies than sugar filled cookies. She found it ironic that Frank wouldn't let her eat an Oreo, but smoke a few cigarettes here and there. 

When the clock stuck exactly 11:45, Florence knocked on the door, Sweet Pea and Mama begun to bark almost instantly. Frank and Gee both walked over to the door, moved the dogs out of the way, then opened the door. 

On their porch, stood a woman taller than both the man and woman, at about 5'9", strawberry blonde hair that went down to her chest, a soft pale face that was nearly flawless. Florence wore a baby pink colored dress that rested a few inches above her knees, black heels, a black leather jacket, and a scarf of the same color. 

"I presume that you're Mr and Mrs Iero. I'm Florence, Florence Welch." Florence introduced herself in a thick English accent, she held her hand out to shake with Frank and Gee's hands. "We spoke on the phone yesterday." 

"Yes, come in." Gee smiled, her voice warm and welcoming. "I'm Gee, and this is my husband, Frank. Jamia has told us so much about you." 

"Jamia, what an angel she is." Florence said as she walked in, her heels created a satisfying sound against the hardwood floor. "I believe that she's one of the best midwives. She and I worked together for nearly four years. How do you know her, if I may ask?"

"I dated her for a while, but then we both met Gee at some party in college." Frank said as he led Florence to their kitchen, he pulled a chair out for her. 

"So, tell me about your pregnancy, Mrs. Iero." 

"Where do I start? This isn't my first pregnancy, you know." 

"From the very start, it'll help me understand you, your history, and what specific needs you may have." 

Gee then began to explain everything that she could remember. 

She started off when she was in college, she had gotten pregnant on accident after a night of drunken, unprotected sex, the easiest thing to do at the time was just to induce an abortion by taking opioids and unhealthy amounts of alcohol. It wasn't something she was very proud of, but she and Frank were just college students, they couldn't handle the responsibilities of parenthood that early on and their lives, and they couldn't exactly afford the medical bills of an abortion done by a doctor up at planned parenthood, as it could cost up to nearly $2,000. 

Gee and Frank swore not to tell another soul, as they wanted no one else to know that Gee self induced a miscarriage. Florence was the only person who knew in those seven years since it occurred. 

Then, she moved onto the miscarriage. It happened six years later, Gee and Frank had been married for less than a year, they planned to become parents even before they wed. It was discovered that Gee would have a rough time becoming pregnant due to her hormone imbalance that she had for nearly her whole life, ever since she stepped into the world of being a teenager, she had more testosterone in her body than estrogen.

After a week and a half of being on the fertility drugs, she took a little blue pill every morning when she woke up, it happened. A night with her husband and brother in law turned ugly, it was an awful night in that apartment. Frank, and Anthony, took Gee up to the hospital only to find out that she suffered a miscarriage, no one including herself knew that she was pregnant. It was the start of a downward spiral for not only her life, but Frank's life as well.

Three years later, she became pregnant for the third time, with three babies. It, like the others, was a shock. It was an unwanted pregnancy at first, but overtime, she grew to love the babies inside of her. And for the first time in seven years, she was able to be comfortable with the fact of being pregnant. 

"I guess that's it. I've only been pregnant two other times before this pregnancy."

"It seems that Mother Nature made up for the other lost lives." Florence said, a small, gentle smile on her face. "Now, I would like to talk about how you're planning on delivering the babies."

"What do you mean?"

"Cesarean section, vaginal, water birth, home birth.." 

"Oh. Well, my doctor recommended that I have a c- section, but that scares the absolute shit out of me. I guess with triplets, there's only one option."

"Unfortunately, yes. However, labour and delivery can be unpredictable, those babies can come naturally, assuming that your water will break by itself and none of them get stuck in the birth canal." 

"Can I do anything to like, prevent that from happening?" 

"Not right now, no. When you're in labour, make sure that you move around," She explained,"Walk around, sway on a birthing ball, or even rocking in a rocking chair. Those little exercises will help open the birth canal and relax the muscles. I'll be there to help you during labour and the delivery."

"Wait," Frank started. "So you're gonna be our midwife?" 

"Yes, I would love to be there for you and your wife." 

"Holy shit, thank you." Frank said, "So, how much do we owe ya? Surely you don't come without a price."

"If you choose to deliver the babies at the hospital regardless of style, around $15,000 per child, that includes vaccinations, other medical care for yourself and the babies. But if you would rather bring them into this world in a warm, comfortable environment at your lovely home, $7,000 per baby." 

"Oh." It was merely a flat statement. They knew that it would be pricey, but not that pricey. That alone would cover a year of their mortgage payments, groceries, other bills. 

They knew that they wouldn't want to do a home birth because it would be very dangerous in case anything went wrong during the delivery. $45,000 was a lot of money, but it would cover any expense regarding the birth, doctors appointments, and anything else after the babies are born. 

The couple discussed it for a few moments before Gee took out her checkbook, wrote out a check for nearly fifty thousand dollars, and slid it over to Florence.

"Thank you. May I ask you a few more questions?"

"Of course." 

"How far along are you? Triplet pregnancies have been known to end at around 33 weeks. They are considered premature and are usually kept in the hospital for a few weeks, but since you're on estrogen boosters, their development will be that of a fully developed newborn." 

"I'm uh, I'm almost 26 weeks pregnant. But, my doctor said I wouldn't give birth until July?" 

"July?" Florence gasped slightly. "Oh, dear, triplets won't stay in the womb that long, the only pregnancy that will make it that long is a single pregnancy."

"Holy shit. So you're talking, June? As in, like, less than two months from now June?" Frank asked, surprised at the revelation. 

"Yes. Even though your wife will be considered eight months pregnant, for triplets they're considered full term." 

"Oh, my god." Gee mumbled, a sudden wave of nausea hit her. "So uh, I guess we'll be officially parents in June."

"Yes. I'll schedule a birthing class for late April, it'll help you prepare for the actual birth." Said Florence."One last question, Geralyn, what symptoms have you been experiencing?"

"I've been super nauseous, I've been getting leg cramps, back aches, swollen ankles, literally everything is swollen, I'm always pissing or just, eating and I've really been craving cranberry juice. I really hate cranberries, but throughout my pregnancy, I've just wanted cranberries." Her eyes had a glassy look to them, tears slowly filled. She looked at Florence and then Frank, "I'm really sorry, but I need to be excused." 

Before Florence or Frank could respond, Gee pushed her chair back and walked quickly out of the kitchen, her black cloth napkin on the ground.

"I better get going, I'll call your wife about setting up an appointment at my office." Florence smiled. She packed up her papers and neatly placed them in her bag. 

Frank escorted her to the door, said his goodbyes and that it was nice meeting her, then once the door was closed, he went into he kitchen. He poured a tall glass of cranberry juice and added frozen cranberries instead of ice cubes, then he carried it up to their master bathroom.

The black door was opened, Gee was found with her hands on the bathroom sink, her head hung low and she breathed heavily, her cheeks flushed. His kicked knocked on the door gently, his head poked in the door frame.

"Baby, are you okay? You just, left so abruptly. I brought you some juice, your stomach will start burning and you'll puke just, stomach fluid."

"They're coming in June." She muttered, voice quiet. "Not August, not July, June. Frank, I'm not ready to be a mother, I've been pregnant for six months and I know nothing about newborns, let alone what kind of fucking delivery I want."

"That's why we have Florence, and Jamia. I barely know anything about being a dad, either." 

"Frank, I'm just really stressed right now. Matthew needs a new sample comic because he wants to test me, I don't know if my mother is alive or dead, and knowing that we have to take responsibility for three, screaming children in less than three months is the icing on the fucking cake, that I can't even eat so I can fit into clothes that aren't maternity."

"A new comic? Gee, you worked since before your birthday last year on that. I know you can do great things, amazing things, but I don't know anyone that can crank out a full comic in a few days. And Gee, we're going to talk to the P.I next week, and he'll work on finding her, even if she is alive," he walked over to, and handed her the glass of chilled juice. "We'll tackle this together, I'm scared as shit that I'm not going to be a good dad to them, but you and I will attend those ridiculous classes, so we can step into parenthood with somewhat of an idea of what we're doing."

"I think I'm just, going to work on the nursery." She sighed, "Thank you for that, and the juice."

"I'll make you some lunch, you'll need something in your stomach before we meet with the PI." 

"Okay. Well, uh, you know where to find me." Her voice still low, "I love you, Frankie."

Gee kissed his nose, then left the bathroom to make her way to the unfinished nursery down the hall.

Frank joined her after he made the two a snack, they continued painting the many creatures on the black walls of the room. 

A playlist of their favorite music played through the speakers of their home, it created a warm and comforting environment for both of them, in the moment every little worry they had seemed to just, float away like the little seeds on a dandelion. 

Above the black cribs, Gee was about to paint the first initial of all of their names, but reached a dilemma as she realized, they didn't have names yet. The most they've talked about names, was about Cherry Garcia ice cream, and even then they weren't sure about their names.

"Frank?" She called his name as she sat on the floor, holding her glass of cranberry juice.

"Yea, Gee?" 

"I was about to paint the initial of the babies' names, but I realized, they don't have names yet. And if they're coming soon, we should probably think about names, other than the flavor of ice cream."

"Yeah, we should. Cherry is a sweet name, though. We should keep it." He sat next to her with a root beer in his hand.

"You want to name our daughter after a fruit? Fuck yeah." She liked the name, it was unique and nothing basic like Jessica, she and Frank both wanted their kids to have a name that was theirs. "How about a middle name?"

"I haven't thought about that, maybe it'll be easier once we thought about the others." 

"One down, two and a half more to go." Frank said with his hand resting on her stomach, her hand on top of his. 

For the next hour and a half, Frank and his wife discussed the names of their children as they finished up their creations. Cherry was an easy name to decide on,as they've basically had it picked since the beginning of the pregnancy.

The other two weren't so easy, they thought of a handful of names in hopes of finding two names that they liked, but nothing really stood out to them. They still had a while to figure it out, but deciding on two names that would define their children, that meant something to them and had a special place in their hearts. 

Ideas bounced off of their heads, they dove into their families' names to find something that truly meant something. Frank suggested that they named their son Frank, being the fourth generation of Frank Iero, but he remembered that growing up he hated being the third Frank, it felt unoriginal to him and he didn't want his son to feel that way. 

It was a long discussion that ended without a clue on what the other babies' names would be, though they did come closer to uncover the names that their children were meant to be named. 

-  
"Can you tell me her name?" Victor asked, a pen in his hand. "And her birthday, last known location, and if you have a few photos of her, that would help me find her."

"Donna Lee Rush, or Way, her maiden name is Rush." Gee replied as she picked at her nails. "I think her birthday is February 4th, 1952, and this is the only photo I have of her, she was only in my life for like, four years before she vanished."

"So the last time you saw her was when you were four?"

"Sorta. Um, I think she was staring at my house a few months ago, there was a note on the door that was written like a 1950's serial killer, it just said February 9th, but nothing happened that day. And last week, a basket showed up at my house addressed to me and my unborn children, but daughter and grandchildren. My dad didn't send it, I know his handwriting." 

"I'd assume you've tried to find her by yourself, but there's always a chance she could've changed her name to prevent that from happening." Victor continued,"This won't be a quick process, it'll take weeks, if not months to find her, though it just depends on what leads we have." 

"See, uh, here's the thing. I'm almost seven months pregnant with triplets, and I'm due to pop like a water balloon in like, almost two months and I really don't want her to be around for that, she abandoned my brother and I when we were just babies." 

"Mrs. Iero, I will try my best to find her before June, hopefully it'll be easier than finding a needle in a haystack. Finding someone that has been under the radar for over twenty years is a difficult task."

"Yeah, I'm aware." She sighed. "I'll throw in an extra two grand if you can speed this up, I just want this done before June. God forbid my children come into this world with a cocaine and alcohol addicted grandmother." 

"That won't be needed, Geralyn, my assistant and I will do our best to find her as quickly as we can." Victor sounded promising. "Was she married?"

"Yeah, to my dad, Donald Way. "

"For how long? Are there any relatives or friends she might be staying with?"

"I was four when she left us, I have no idea."

"Are you and your father close?"

"Well, there's a lot of tension lately. It's a complicated trifecta of tension between myself and him." 

"Maybe relieve that tension just for a little, get some information from him that could tie us to Donna. Relatives, friends, favorite bars, shopping places, you know, that kind of stuff."

"I'll see what I can do. I'll email you what information I can dig up."

Before they could wrap up their meeting, Victor asked for a retainer check, her signature on a few contracts, and asked her if she had any other questions or things that can help them find Donna, but she came up empty handed. Worried that she couldn't find anything else, or knew of anymore information that might help with finding Donna, she asked Victor if that would compromise the case.

It seemed to be the best part about her day, but Victor said that with the information she provided, it wouldn't be any less difficult if she had given anymore information on Donna. However, she would still be able to provide some once she talked to her father.

Once the meeting was over, Victor's assistant led Gee out of his office. 

As her uterus had grown to be nearly 500 times it's original size, it pressed against her hip bones, which made her walk look more as a waddle than a walk. A few pairs of eyes stared at her and her pregnant belly as she walked towards the elevator, and then to the parking garage. It made her uncomfortable with all of those eyes on her, and it seemed to be the one perk so far of the babies coming sooner, strangers wouldn't stare at her and try to touch her belly.

In her car seemed to be a safe place from those creeps who felt an automatic right to grope her baby belly, in her mind, Frank was the only one allowed to touch her. He was dialed shortly after the car door was closed, his sweet voice came though the speaker almost immediately.

"Hey, darling, how did the meeting with Victor go?"

"Kind of shit. I barely know anything about Donna, so I have kiss up to get some information from my dad. Now with that on my plate, I'll be up to my knees in tasks come tomorrow morning."

"You might wanna get him drunk, maybe cook him dinner and keep filling up the old man's scotch." Frank suggested.

"That's an idea, but the only thing I can make is a really good grilled cheese sandwich." She was serious, she wasn't much of a cook, Frank did most of the cooking in the household. "On that note, do you want me to pick something up on my way home?" 

"I was thinking, since you've had a pretty shitty day between the news of the triplets, the comic, and now the situation with Donna, we should go out to Dave and Busters for the night. We haven't been there in a while, it always used to cheer us up when either of us felt blue." 

Dave and Busters was a old place for the Ieros, they would spend many nights at the arcade playing racing or shooter games for hours on end, or they would end up in the bathroom doing things that they would certainly get thrown out for. 

It was one of many places that they enjoyed going to, it brought them comfort and great memories. 

Though, things were different now. Gee was tired, sore all over, she carried about 30 extra pounds on her midsection, her mood shifted all over the place, she couldn't sit for more than 20 minutes before her bladder felt the need to explode, it was like she was a completely different lady. 

"That sounds marvelous, I'll be home shortly." She knew that a night out with Frank would do some good, especially since the babies will be arriving sooner than expected, they might not have many nights like that for a while. The call didn't last much longer before they hung up, as they would be rendezvous at their home. 

Back at the house, Frank did more exciting things. He hung out in his office with a cup of his favorite tea as he discussed plans for his career with his manager, Cara Shaw. 

Cara thought since people were beginning to recognize him, and magazines wanted to do more interviews, that they should put together videos for a couple of songs from Stomachaches. 

Frank had thought about it of course, he had already began to plan out the concept of the videos. Though, they weren't sure on what songs they wanted to make into something more visual, but Frank had a few ideas as to which. He hadn't told Gee yet, as the plans were still being drafted out into something solid.

Meetings with his management to further discuss the matter were set up, but it was still and idea that just floated around in the thin air. Though he didn't want to rush into it without a clear idea of what would happen, he wanted that to be taken care of before the birth of the babies, as he would want to be around for not only them, but to support and help Gee.

Even though the videos aren't set in stone yet, a handful of tour dates were. He wouldn't be traveling to anywhere far, just venues that were at most eight hours away. The dates were set between May 20th and June 10th, almost a full month of dates. 

Frank wanted to wait until the smoke cleared with her job, and the issues with tracking her mother down before he said anything about the Tour. She wouldn't be able to go with him as she would be very pregnant and her doctor would most certainly want her to stay In bed until the babies arrived. 

He didn't like the fact he could possibly miss the birth of his kids, as he would be in Chicago, which was 12 hours away from New Jersey. The travel time would take too long, especially if her labor progressed quickly like Florence suggested, he was working on starting the tour earlier and ending it the same.

As the conversation with Cara ended, Gee came into the home. She announced her presence by calling out to Frank, asking if he could meet her in the kitchen. He greeted her with a kiss, he hugged her from behind and kissed her cheek as she poured herself a cup of coffee.

She told him about what Victor had said, and what task he assigned her to dig up more information about who Donna is. She also mentioned that a very pregnant Kristin and Mikey invited both of them to Kristin's baby shower, as she was about to pop like a water balloon filled with amniotic fluid.

Frank helped her devise a plan to get her information from her father without him knowing, as he could very well lie about her whereabouts and status, and it all involved Kristin's baby shower. 

Aside from the events that took place that day, from the news from Florence about the due date would be sooner than either of them could imagine, the meeting with Victor to find out that Donna could be very much alive, the discussion from Cara about not only the upcoming production of a selection of music videos, but the tour, the best part about the day was when they could settle down in front of their favorite racing games, and House Of The Dead at a dark, neon lighted arcade. 

During their 5th rematch of a racing game, Gee finally beat Frank at a game that they constantly argued over when they stepped foot into that arcade. Unlike her husband, but she wasn't very good at racing games. Whenever she won, she would rub her win in his face, as he did nearly every time that he won a match. 

After D&B kicked everyone out for the night, as they would be closing, Frank and his wife ended up behind the building with their lips locked, similar to how their nights would end back in their earlier relationship. It was more challenging now, as it was like there was a watermelon duct-taped to Gee's mid-section. They couldn't get as close as they wanted to, because every-time Frank would lean in closer and his belly would press against Gee's, he felt the babies kick. It made him smile every-time, knowing that they evolved from some teenagers that stunk of weed, screwed like rabbits, and never paid attention in school, to expecting parents that are living out their dreams. 

In that moment, as he kissed his wife and had his hands on her belly, the conversation with his grandfather and grandmother before he planned to propose to Gee, four years earlier, suddenly popped into his mind. Frank remembered what his Grandmother said that morning, it gave him that shove he needed to not only put aside any worry that she would say no, but to make one of the best choices of his life. 

Frank soon discovered what his second daughter's name would be. The unborn child's name was a symbol of innocence, purity, and beauty. At the time, Frank didn't know that, but as he would raise the little girl, he would pick up on those traits and realize that he made a very accurate, and great choice for her name. 

Frank and Gee's son's name would mean gracious, handsome, and energetic. As with their daughter's name, they would discover that their names appropriately identified their children, and their personalities, but they wouldn't know that for many years. 

A name is chosen by a baby's parent without them knowing who their child will grow up to be, but they know that their child meant everything to them. 

Frank was a name chosen by his mother, it meant freedom. Geralyn was chosen by her grandmother, it meant ruler. Donna was chosen by her mother, Elena, her name meant "Lady of the home.", but Elena didn't know that she would be naming her daughter something that was untrue to her identity. 

"I've lost my shoe." xoM


	22. Letters

Donald Way was a complicated man. When he was 19, he married the love of his life, Donna Lee Rush. After they made it on their own, two years later, Donna became pregnant with their first daughter, Geralyn. It was an unplanned pregnancy, but they still loved her from the moment she was born. Then Mikey came four years later, again it was an unplanned pregnancy, it was the top tier that made everything crumble in Donna's life. She turned to alcohol, drugs, and promiscuity to relieve the stress of being a mother. 

The combination of those three things are what led to her death, she left one night and never returned. It broke Donald to explain to his daughter that her mother wouldn't be coming home, but on the night of January 25th, 1985, a visitor at their door would change his track of life. He kept a navy blue shoebox in the attic that held letters from the visitor was something he never wanted his children to find, and that was until he attended his daughter-in-law's baby shower, one of his two children would find the truth in that box. 

\- 

04/05/10

An invitation was sent to the Iero home, it was pink and covered in translucent glitter. It announced the baby shower for Kristin and her unborn daughter, Rowan Louise. It was Disney themed, the font was similar to that of the Disney logo, and a little silhouette of Tinker Bell was on the front of the invitation. 

Gee loved her brother, he was her best friend, but baby showers weren't really her thing. When Lindsey was pregnant with Bandit, Gee went to hers, and she found the games and atmosphere to be very uncomfortable. She decided that she would still go to Kristin's shower, as she wanted to support her brother, sister-in-law, and her new niece. It also gave her the opportunity to get some information from Donald, without him knowing.

She knew that Donald would just blow it off, or give her the same line he has been anytime she ever brought the topic of her mother up to him. When she was a child, Donald wouldn't allow either her nor Mikey in his room after a certain point, around third grade. 

A few days prior, she and Frank discussed that as they tried to figure out how to approach Donald about the subject. Frank brought up the idea of her sneaking to Donald's house during the baby shower, which wasn't entirely a bad idea. The plan was that she would slip out during the most exciting part of the shower, and slip back in when Frank texts her that said event is dying down, that way no one will notice that she's gone. 

It was the only way she could catch Donald in a time where he wasn't around, She lived in that house for nineteen years, she knew that Donald had secrets stashed away in his bedroom, why else would he not let them in his room? Even when Mikey would have nightmares, he stopped going to his Father's room and slept on the floor of Gee's room. 

After a certain point, Donald became a different, overly protective father, and some part of Gee knew that it had to do something with her mother. It would not only give her the assurance she needed to know that Donna wasn't in contact with Donald, but it could also give her a key to finding her soon so she wouldn't be involved with her, or her family.

A week and a half had passed since the two had RSVP'd to Kristin's baby shower, which meant that her shower was approaching very soon, as in the next day soon. Between getting the comic done for Michael-which she was able to get an extension on, business involving Frank's music career, finding Donna, and being bed bound because of the horrific symptoms of pregnancy during the seventh month, it was nearly impossible to step out of the house and shop for a baby shower gift for Kristin. 

The before her baby shower, they were able to take a few hours out of their busy schedule to shop for some gift for the expectant mother. The two drove up to the mall near their home, and stopped at a store that carried everything from breast pumps, to pacifiers that had Disney characters on them. 

"What would an expectant mother need? There's so much shit here." Frank asked. He looked around the shelves for an idea. 

"Hell if I know, I don't even know what I need, let alone another pregnant woman." His wife shrugged. "You know, I guess since we're here, we should get a few things. Like, bottles, pacifiers, breast pumps, whatever else I need. Maybe I can pull up a list online or something." 

"Don't you want to wait until your baby shower? I think every first-time mothers should have one, it's like a celebration." 

"God no, I don't want to have one. That's just, a lot of weird contact with people, I don't think I'm that kind of person that dreamed of the perfect baby shower, with those stupid baby shower games where ladies have a contest who can drink the most out of bottles, or 'How big is Mommy's tummy?', they're just not me." 

"A baby shower could be fun, remember Kat's baby shower? It was goth as fuck, the ducks were black, and basically every decoration was either black or red. It was sick." 

"I don't know, Frankie, I just don't think I'm totally on board with people coming to celebrate the fact I'm knocked up, that's all." 

"What about a gender reveal party? Our families have to know that we're having two beautiful girls, and a boy that's going to be a stud." He suggested. Maybe if she didn't want to have a baby shower, they could do a gender reveal party instead, as those games aren't typically played at a gender reveal party. "Let's get Kristin something Disney, like, a Cinderella mobile. Or carriage stroller for Rowan." 

"I guess that could work, how would we do it, though? I've seen people use balloons, and you know how I feel about balloons." She said with a cocked eyebrow.

"Shit, I didn't think about that, maybe we can ask Jamia or Florence for some ideas, they'll probably have some rad ideas up their sleeves." 

Jamia and Florence had experience with first- mothers, it would be wise to contact them about the things they had no idea to go about something, such as a gender reveal for triplets. It wasn't a common thing, as triplets themselves occur only in 10% of any 100,000 pregnancies. 

They thought about ideas as they shopped for Kristin's gift. They settled on a few Disney themed onesies that probably already had, and an Ariel night-light for Rowan's nursery. Not only did they buy a few gifts for Kristin, but they bought a few things for their unborn children since Gee didn't want to have a baby shower. 

Breast pumps, a stroller that sits 3 babies, nursing pillows, car seats, bottles, pacifiers, and outfits were all purchased, it was definitely just the beginning of what would need to be purchased before the babies were to arrive, It was a very long list on their registry of things, the amount had to be tripled, which meant that Gee needed a lot more things before they were ready. 

Kristin probably wasn't even ready, either, and she had been pregnant longer. Maybe that was why she was having a baby shower, that way she and Mikey could be more prepared for when Rowan came. Either way, it wasn't something that Gee would do, or even consider. 

After everything was paid for at the shop, Gee, and Frank went to their favorite vegetarian restaurant, since they were already out. They had some nice conversations during lunch, Frank was concerned about her and the amount of stress she's been under, with her new job, the things with her mother, and the babies arriving in a little over 8 weeks, it was stressful for both of them, but especially for the woman that carried the babies. 

"I'm just, really fucking stressed." Gee admitted. "Matthew was really chapping my ass about this comic, he wanted it in by tomorrow, but I talked to Claudia and she said that I can send in something older. She was also going to talk to him."

"That's great, but I'm really sorry you have to work with him, his poor mother shoulda sat on a coat hanger when she had the chance." 

Gee snorted in response, her pale cheeks were brushed with a soft pink as she giggled. A couple next to them heard the comment from Frank, and shot them a disapproving look as they shook their heads. Neither the woman or her friend said anything about it, they just gave Frank a dirty look, and continued on with their lunch. 

"You know, I'm pretty sure they're going to throw something in our drinks when we arent looking. She rolled her eyes, only half serious about the matter. However, she herself thought it was funny, even if the ladies next to her didn't. 

The conversation was shifted form Gee's stressors in life, to Frank's music career. Cara Shaw, Frank's manager, had called earlier that day with news about their latest idea to further his journey in the world of music, Frank had thought previously that didn't want to spill out too many details about the matter, as they weren't yet confirmed, but either way he would still have to tell her, plus it was one of those things that were not worth hiding. 

"So, I saw that Cara called this morning, What's new?"

"Well, It was just about a meeting with the big guys, it's to discuss getting some videos in order for a couple of songs."

"Holy shit, Frank, that's fucking great!" Gee gasped in awe, her eyes lit up like a Christmas tree. "What songs have you thought of?" 

"Definitely the one I wrote for you, that's the first one I thought of-It's kind of the thing that started the process. I was also thinking Joyriding, and Guilt Tripping, or Stage 4, I'm kind of stuck between those two." he explained, but his hands did most of the talking. "I do have like, a lot of ideas for them, though."

"That's so cool, babe. When is the meeting?" 

"The 8th, I'm kind of shitting my pants about it- they're great people, but uh, It's kind of like, leaving my mark. I know I've gone on tour and made an album, but like, it's the more artistic aspect of being in a band."

"I'm very sure that you'll be up and working on them soon. I think that making a story board of the outline of the video would be a good idea, that way they'll be easier to make as you have an idea on what will happen. That's what I did in art school, for The Breakfast Monkey- You know what, I actually might still have them somewhere. I can help you with making like, things for props, and the outlines." 

"That would be so great, Gee, but I don't want you to overwork yourself. Like, you just started that job, and we're both trying to get out shit squared away for when Cherry, Lillian, and our son arrives."

"I can spare a few nights to help you out." She insisted, "The babies have been keeping me up lately, they're constantly kicking around. my scoliosis is far worse now, and I always have to piss, it works out perfectly, I guess." 

Frank was thrilled to have Gee work with him on the projects, but he didn't want her to put too much pressure on herself by balancing too many things on her plate at once, especially at a time like then ,but Frank expected her to know when things were getting out of hand, Gee would know when she couldn't handle all of the stress and would pull away from it. 

With that, they made the plan to work together if Frank got approval from corporate, though they would only be planning the videos and Frank, his band, his father, and Cara would build the set and decorate them accordingly. That conversation was short, as there wouldn't be much to plan until the approval was given. 

\- 

Within an hour, they made it back to their home to begin assembling everything for Kristin's baby shower. The Disney gifts were placed into baby pink colored bags with rubber duck cards attached to the handles, the little tags were signed by both of them and a card was placed above the white tissue paper.

"Fuck," Frank hissed as he dropped the scissors. "Why do they need to be wrapped? We're putting them in a bag, anyway. It's a giant waste of paper, if you asked me." 

"I don't know, I guess for the element of surprise, so the gifts aren't just out in the open? Plus, the wrapping paper is kind of cute, little Minnie Mouse bows." Gee noted. "Disney isn't like, my favorite, other than Star Wars, but Disney reminds me of when we went to Paris."

"Oh, yeah, when we found out that you were pregnant. "That was an awesome weekend, the sex was amazing." Frank added. "Disney was pretty fun, too."

"I liked the Star Wars stuff, I think a bought a couple outfits that had Yoda on them." 

"You did, and a sexy ass maid costume."

"For our kids?" She giggled.

"Obviously- fucking - not." Frank replied as he rolled his eyes. "I wonder if they have maternity maid outfits, or better yet, leather." 

"I don't even want to know if there are such things. Being pregnant, especially with three whole humans, is uncomfortable with this extra weight around my midsection, it's like having a giant bowling ball ducted taped to me. I'm just kind of, extra big." 

"Cherry, Lil, and our son are all in there, growing, swimming, and kickin', your belly will go down after they're born. Plus, it's more of you to cuddle, it's like I'm laying with you and our kids at the same time, I guess that's kind of how it is, but not really?" 

"Oh god." She groaned as she covered her face, she leaned back with her head resting on the back of the couch. "I'll have to wear maternity bras, like where my tits will just be able to pop out, I still have to back a hospital bag for when it's time to deliver the babies. I just realized that we won't be able to have sex like at all within the next year, like with raising three humans, your music career, and this job with D.C." 

"Don't babies just sleep all of the time? Like ferrets? I'm sure we can find some time to sneak a quickie in, it's not the only time we've had to, remember the weekend we spent with my mom, like right before we got married? I'm surprised she wasn't suspicious over the amount of showers we took." Frank moved over to her, he straddled her lap with his hands on her belly. 

"Ferrets still eat, poop, and need attention. otherwise they'll get sick, or they'll die. Kind of like you, but you require sex some times. Maybe Florence could help us out, even just a little bit? Not with the sex aspect, but with the organization of getting the hospital stay arranged." 

"She'll definitely be able to help us, otherwise, I don't know why we're paying her out the ass for her services. Too bad Jamia couldn't have been our midwife, she probably would've charged us way less than Florence." 

"You're right, but you have to admit it, your ex girlfriend monitoring my pregnancy and our children, that's kind of weird." 

"Yeah, you're right." He sighed, his hands moved around her belly in search for the babies. "How big are our babies?" 

"Well, that app said that they're the length of a scallion. What even is a scallion?"

"I think it's an onion, kind of like one of those long green ones, like chives." he guessed, "It seems like yesterday when we found out that you were pregnant, now there's just a few weeks left before we're officially parents." 

"Yeah, it's been a while, I mean, we found out in November, even then I was like, two months pregnant. It was nice to be able to fit into jeans, and other articles of clothing that weren't maternity." 

"Shit, I didn't think that it's been that long, fuck. Still, we're almost parents and honestly, I've never been more excited for anything." he admitted, then he kissed her nose. "Gee?"

"Yes, Frank?" 

"Do you want to fuck? We haven't christened our living room, yet." 

The question almost caught her off guard, it was asked out of the blue, but she certainly couldn't say no to a charming proposal like that, so blunt and straight to the point. 

\- here's a warning??

"Yes, but we have to be quick, Kristin's baby shower starts in two hours." She didn't have to tell Frank twice. He was soon taking off his shirt and Nike shoes, he motioned for her to take her pants off, and she was quick to oblige. 

Her artist hands worked at the belt, and zipper on her pants, then the pair of black jeans with a stretchy waistband (designed for a growing baby bump.) were tossed into the pile of clothing that slowly began to grow as more articles were added, they were soon followed by Frank's jeans, and Gee's shirt, it left them both nearly naked, but not quite. 

Frank turned the lighting down in the room, and then the stereo on that played a soft tune, either Louis Armstrong, Frank Sinatra, Johnny Cash, or even a playlist of all of the above, it just depended on what was recently played. A sweet tune played from the stereo and echoed through the room, the fireplace burned and the wooden logs crackled under the flame, an auburn glow flickered throughout the room, illuminating the area in front of the couches. 

They ended up on their leather couch, Frank was on top of Gee as they kissed, their lips locked as their tongues danced, teeth clashed together, and their hands couldn't stay away from the other's body. Every curve, every inch of their bodies were caressed. Frank's hands always found themselves at Gee's chest, massaging and gently squeezing the enlarged mounds of flesh. 

Breathing became slightly rapid between the two, the boiling, red, blood coursed through their veins and to their sexual organs, endorphins were released as their bodies pressed together, their hearts pounded within their chests and could be felt by the other, if not heard. 

Frank's hands slowly made their way down between her legs, the tips of his inked fingers brushed over her soft, pale, glowing skin in a very delicate way, almost as if they barely touched her flesh. The light touch made the hair on the back of her neck stand up like an antenna on the back of a television. 

His pink lips kissed at her neck, his white teeth nibbled at, and scraped against her skin, it was hard to not be able to leave any love bites on her neck, as they had a baby shower to attend, but there were other places he could leave them that wouldn't be noticed, almost like a dirty, little, secret that only they knew about. It added a bit of excitement between them, even though they've done it many, many, times before. 

Frank took his time in kissing down her body, from her jawline to her pubic bone, he kissed at her honey scented skin. He noticed a dark line that started below her breasts and went down below her belly, but remembered it was because of her ab muscles splitting, but couldn't remember what the name was. His fingers were soon looped around the sides of her bubblegum pink, silk panties. 

"Frank, baby, wait," She stopped him in his tracks, just before he tugged down the garment, a bit of shyness lingered in her voice. 

"Are you okay up there? I don't think I'm hurtin' ya, at least that I hope that I'm not. I'm not like, you know, inside of you yet." 

"You aren't. There's uh, well, you know being pregnant and all, my hormones are always up and down, and no matter how like, turned on I am, It's really hard to get off. I spent like, an hour and a half the other day just to come once, I'm almost certain I gave myself carpal tunnel." she confessed, though it was a little embarrassing for her to admit that she wasn't able to get off as easily as she might've before. 

"Oh, uh, well," his eyebrow quirked and a smirk formed on his face, an idea had come upon him, something fun. "Darling, I play guitar for a band, I've been playing since I was 13, these fingers aren't going to get tired that easily, my dick doesn't either."

Her cheeks burned a crimson, but her hormones raced even faster within her body, the cocktail rushed down between her legs, her hips almost bucked towards him in an instant. 

"Fuck." she muttered, then reached behind her back to unclasp her bra, her breasts sprung free from the wired fabric that was tossed into the pile of discarded clothing. "Please?" 

Frank licked his lips then took the fabric in his teeth, he pulled as his hands were tightly gripped around the sides of her underwear. With a dull tearing sound, the pink fabric tore off of her body, a mouthful of fabric was spit onto the floor, but the others were balled and thrown over his shoulder. He wasted no time in grabbing her thick thighs and burying his face between them, his warm tongue darted out of his mouth and licked a stripe from the bottom of her cunt, to the very tip of her clit. The sudden action made her gasp, her hips jumped slightly at the action.

His tongue lapped at the pink flesh between her legs, his taste buds savored the sweet flavor of her, a flavor that he had almost craved from time to time. His tongue swirled around her swollen, sensitive clit, he sucked and licked at her, everywhere he could. He pulled away from her with a pop, a string of spit and her own wetness connected his shiny pink lips to her cunt. 

Two of his fingers were soaked in his saliva, they rubbed against her clit, then dipped down to penetrate her cunt, warmth enveloped his fingers as they bent up to find that sweet spot that ignited pure pleasure within her. 

"You're so beautiful, darling. So wet, so turned on." he whispered, voice low, and almost at a growl. His hand began to work faster has he spoke to her, his eyes looked into hers, almost into her soul. 

"Fuck, Frankie," she whined, her hand went down to his hair, she grabbed a fistful of his chestnut brown colored hair, tugging on it as his skilled fingers worked inside of her, brushing up against that spot with every movement. Her hips moved in a way that pressed his fingers right against her spot, it built up that boiling heat within her that would bring her closer to a warm, satisfying orgasm that she craved. 

She felt pleasure, she felt everything she expected to, but when she felt that she would hit her peak, it never happened. Almost like the peak slowly sunk back into the ground and the process began all over again. Frank noticed that, then he pulled away from between her legs and pulled down his boxers, his erection sprung free from the confinement of the loose fabric. He spat in his hand and slicked up the phallic object, beads of clear fluid dribbled from the tip, adding to the slickening substance. 

They adjusted their position on the couch that didn't put pressure on not only her lungs, but the growing babies inside of her. Their position switched from Frank hovering over her, to her sitting on the edge of the couch, Frank had one foot on the couch and the other was on the ground, it allowed the area between his legs to be in the perfect position. One hand went onto the back of the couch, while the other held onto the base of his cock, steading the erect object. He slapped it against her cunt, he watched her squirm each time it came down, then he snickered before slowly inserting the tip into her cunt. 

Her breath hitched, and hands gripped onto the leather of the couch. "Fuck, holy shit-" she nearly cried out as Frank pushed himself inside fully, in just one quick, seamless move. His thighs were flush against her ass and the couch. Their lips locked as Frank slowly picked up a pace, in and out, in and out, over and over again. The couch creaked below them, the springs between the cushions squeaked with every thrust. 

"Fuck, you feel so fucking good, Gee." was muttered against her lips, his voice low, almost at a whisper. His hand tightened in the sofa, the blunt nails left crescent shaped imprints on the leather. he whispered dirty things in her ear, things that certainly would've gotten a bar of soap shoved into his mouth if ever uttered in front of his parents. 

Moans, whimpers, and groans were muffled by the crook of Frank's inked, sweaty neck. Gee's hands were on his back, her nails dug into the flesh, it left ten long, red, claw marks on the skin, five on each side of his back. With every thrust, a animalistic growl was emitted from Frank's throat, muffled by the couch. 

"Fuck-ah-ah-ah!" she cried out as Frank slammed into her, her hair drenched and matted to her forehead with sweat. Frank's curls bounced on his forehead, chestnut brown and silk with salty perspiration. They both reeked like sex, the stench of sweat radiated off of them like some cheap fragrance, the sounds of pleasure, the creaking and squeaking from the couch, and a faint symphony of music filled the empty air in the house. 

"Yes, yes, keep going, fuck." words of encouragement spilled from her mouth like they were water spilling from a waterfall, even if she didn't intend to say something, they just spilled out. 

A hand was snaked through the tight space between them, slick fingers worked quickly between her legs. It took longer than it usually, even when foreplay of any sort was involved, but she was balancing on the edge of an orgasm. Frank's orgasm shot through him like a bullet piercing through his skin, every ounce of pleasure bubbled inside of him. He quickly pulled out from her slick core, his hand quickly worked at his cock, his face was contorted in pleasure, mouth formed a perfect, pornographic "O", cherry colored lips slick with sweat and spit lined the O. White, translucent, thin fluid sprayed out in a stream on his wife's torso, painting her breasts, chest, stomach, and her face with the fluid. 

Her tongue stick out, waiting for the salty fluid to land on her tongue like snowflakes in the winter. Gee's left hand replaced his, jerking him quickly as she pushed herself over the edge. The to was in her mouth as she came, her hips jerked and her toes curled. moaning around the pulsating, veiny shaft. "Fuck!" he cried, his hips bucked forward as pings of overstimulation set in. Hi s hand laced in her hair, then pulled her off with a pop, a string of saliva dripped from her mouth. 

"Unless you're in for a round two, I suggest that you don't do that." he panted, droplets of sweat from his beaded forehead dripped down. He slicked his hair back with a free hand, but a few strands fell back into their previous place. "Did you cum, darling?"

"Mmm." she nodded. she used her index finger to scoop some of the cum from her chest and into her mouth. "I did, and now uh, I should probably clean up."

"Fuck," he muttered, he wiped his forehead with his forearm. 

\- 

Pink balloons, streamers, and various Disney decorations covered the inside of the Way-Colby household. The steps going up to their front door had signs next to them, they had various Disney Princesses and on their porch, was a decorative carriage from Cinderella. The fence and mailbox had baby pink streamers pinned to them. It looked like a child decorated the home. 

"I knew Kristin loved Disney, but not this much. It's like Walt Disney arose from the dead and hurled all over her home. " Frank commented as he and Gee stood in Kristin's kitchen, he held a beer while Gee held a diet soda. 

"She lived in California for like, twenty years before she met Mikey, she basically grew up in Disney, but the balloons are giving me the heebie-jeebies, they could just pop at any moment, that shit is scary." 

"Aw, that would be so fun. Disney is amazing, I can't wait to take our kids." a small smile came upon his face at the thought of taking his children to the Happiest Place On Earth. "Shit, there are a lot of balloons around here. It would be shame if someone were to pop one." he cocked an eyebrow and picked up a fork. 

"Frank, do not-"   
-

Within the next hour, they cleaned up from previous events and dressed for the occasion. Gee dressed in a black dress that went down to her mid-thigh, dock martin boots, and a leather jacket. Frank wore something similar, he wore a pink shirt with a denim jacket that had been decorated with pins, and patches across the front and arms, black jeans, and black and white checkered vans. 

There wasn't much of a dress code for the shower, such as pink or some sort of Disney reference, so they dressed in something that was a mix of casual, and formal enough for a baby shower, as they'd be around many of Kristin's family members that had flown out from California, Mikey, Donald, and a handful of Kristin and Mikey's friends. At the residence, there must've been close to 100 people swarming around the house. 

The lady of the hour was dressed in a long, floral, white and pink dress, her hair was parted in the middle and curled, her skin glowed in a radiant way, the pregnancy glow must've stuck with her since the beginning of her pregnancy. She didn't seem to be bothered by the negative symptoms that came along with pregnancy, Kristin made her away around to everyone, chatted, and did that all day. She was constantly happy, Kristin had that positive vibe about her, it's more than likely something that Mikey had instantly fallen in love with. 

Being the other pregnant woman at the baby shower, Gee had received some unwanted attention from some of Kristin's family. Kristin's mother, Stacey, had introduced herself as it's been a while since they've spoken, then proceeded to ask questions about Gee's pregnancy. When Stacey was told that Gee was pregnant with not just one, but three babies, she nearly fainted. It was almost like Stacey had not ever heard of a woman pregnant with triplets. She, and others had asked about the genders of the babies, but Gee told them all that they wouldn't be revealing them until either they're born, or a gender reveal party within the near future. 

Though the interest was certainly understandable, for god sakes, she had three humans growing inside of her uterus, it made Gee very uncomfortable and anxious, at least two people every hour came up to discuss pregnancy or something about babies, but she'd often make an excuse such as nausea, or wanting to find her husband as a way to escape that atmosphere. 

Donald was at the party, he talked to the older folks at the party, Mikey, and Kristin mostly, though he did try to mingle with his Daughter-In-Law's family. Gee noticed him sitting at the kitchen table, alone, she thought that it could be a good opportunity to ask if he had the box of comic strips in the basement still, so she took it. 

"Hey, Dad." she sat next to him at the table with an Ariel centerpiece, little balloons tied around the statue. "Is this seat taken?"

"Nope, go ahead." he allowed her to sit at the cherry stained chair. "How are the triplets? It's been a while since you've updated me on the little buggers." 

"They're good, uh, Frank and I are thinking about having a gender reveal party, but you know how I feel about balloons." 

"What about cake? I've seen people on television reveal genders with cake, that's how your mother and I found out about you and your brother's genders, we had cupcakes with pink and blue icing in the middle." he suggested. "I'm glad that they're doing well, hopefully you're doing just as good, I know pregnancy can be tough." 

"That could work, yeah, I'll see what Frank thinks about it." 

"Dad, could I ask you something?" 

"Of course, what's on your mind?"

Gee told him about what's new with Frank's music, and the fact he would need some help with the storyboard of the videos. The point was that she wanted to run over to her childhood home to find the box of the old drawings for the Breakfast Monkey. Donald said that it was fine that she went by the home, as it was only a ten minute drive from the Way-Colby home. He also mentioned that it was in the attic, and in a dark box, he had moved the boxes because their basement would often flood and he didn't want anything to happen to her belongings. 

They discussed the updates in their lives, from the triplets to Donald's health, and job. He mentioned that he had purchased a few gifts for Gee and the triplets, a few were for her birthday and the others were for when the triplets arrived. He told her that he would drop them off when her birthday rolled around, but she wasn't allowed to open the ones for her children until the gender reveal party. It warmed her heart, it was a moment in which she felt close to her dad, as they've never really had a good relationship, especially after she married Frank. 

After a while, it was time for Kristin to open her gifts. She sat on a chair in the living room as her friends and family showered her in neatly wrapped gifs, she had a stack of baby outfits, toys, and supplies she would need as a new mother around her. She was very happy during that time, surrounded by all of that love for herself and her unborn daughter. 

"Thank you all for everything. Rowan, Mikey, and I appreciate you showing love today, I surely will be going to bed tonight with a heart full of love." said Kristin. "Today means something extra special as Mikey and I have decided that before Miss. Rowan Louise makes her appearance in a few short weeks, we will be moving to back to California so we can be closer to my side of the family." 

Right as Kristin finished her sentence, Gee choked on her diet soda. The fizzy, ice cold, brown liquid dripped from her chin and into her lap, dampening a spot on her dress. California? That's across the country, it would be quite difficult to see her brother and his family, she didn't think that she would be able to think about living so far away from Mikey without crying, for god sakes, he was her baby brother. 

Even though she certainly wasn't in favor of him moving to California, she still supported him no matter what, he and his wife want Rowan to be in a place where more family would be around, it's where Kristin felt most at home, and she wanted her daughter to be able to know the most influential women in her life.

When it came time for the cake, Gee talked to Mikey about the choice to move to California, she told him that New Jersey was their home, it's the only place that they've known. Mikey knew that, but he agreed with Kristin that moving would be good for Rowan to be close to family. She understood that, because the only family they had around was their father, and very distant relatives scattered around. 

It wasn't intentional, but the fact that Mikey would be moving in a few weeks put more pressure on her to have the gender reveal party, as she wanted Mikey to know that he was going to have two nieces and a nephew, without spoiling the surprise. If they either not get the party arranged on time, or Gee decides to not have one, she would just tell him openly. 

After the cake, the party died down to barely anything. A lot of people left, friends left, the majority of family stayed because Brianna, Janelle, Hayley, Stacey, and Randy stayed at the house. The others left, like Aunts, Uncles, and Cousins, but Donald stayed. He insisted on staying to help Kristin and Mikey clean up around the house, since the party guests left many dirty plates, empty bottles of liquids, napkins, and crumbs on nearly all surfaces in the first floor. 

Gee would've stayed, but she was on a mission to not only retrieve the box of papers from the attic, but to find any clues throughout the house that could pinpoint where her mother is, or if she's actually dead. 

Goodbyes and hugs were exchanged, Kristin and Mikey thanked the both of them for coming, and then Gee and her husband left. She drove to her childhood home, as Frank had a few beers while they were at the Way-Colby home, and it would be risky for him to drive with alcohol in his system. 

The spare key was found underneath a rock in the front garden, it was one of those fake rocks that had a little compartment in the bottom for spare keys, it blended in for anyone that had no idea what the decoy looked like, and that was the point. 

In the attic, Gee found a navy blue box, it was pulled down and placed on the kitchen table. She told Frank that she thought she found it, and he came into the kitchen with another box. It was odd, but they were both opened. One contained papers that she was looking for, but the other wasn't what she was looking for. It contained a box of old letters. Curiosity took over, she unfolded the letter and the cursive was so perfect, it was hard to read, and the person didn't sign off. 

She found an envelope that the letter came in, it was a little water damaged from the leaky roof, but it wasn't hard to make out who the sender was. It seemed that the letters flew from the sky and landed on the paper in just the right spot, but that was a fragment of her imagination. 

"Donna Rush - December 22nd, 2009"

There was a box in Donald Way's attic, it was something that he never wanted his children to find. It was a box that contained hundreds of letters from the past twenty five years that were written by a visitor, known by her alias, Donna Lee Rush. He didn't know that he would be handing over the key to finding the box when he told his eldest child that she could pick up a navy blue box from his attic. Nor did he know that she would put the box back in her car, along with the one she truly needed, and drive home with it. He wouldn't find out that his daughter knew about this secret he's kept for so long, just to protect her and Mikey.


	23. Florence +The Machine

\- 

"Gee, he's going to notice that the box is gone." said Frank. He sat across from her on the floor of her office, a pile of letters from the past twenty-four years separated them. He certainly wasn't wrong in the sense that her father would notice that the seemingly sacred box was missing from a safe place. 

"Probably, I think we should just be quick, maybe make copies of them for just us?" she suggested. "But shit, there's a lot of letters here. Take a look at this one, I think my dad sent Donna photos from our wedding." 

"What? How do you know?"

"She's just talking about how good we looked that day, and that she wished she could've been there to see us get married." her eyes scanned over the aged paper, the cursive nearly unreadable. 

"This is so insane, she's still alive." 

"It seems so, I just- I don't get why my dad would hide this from me for like, nearly thirty years. Sure, she was a druggie and horrible parent, he coulda just told Mikey and I that he was just going to raise us." she sighed. "Oh no, Mikey doesn't know. I can't tell him this just before he moves, fuck-" 

"Hold on." he had a thought. "Maybe settling this like, privately would be the best option."

"Frankie," she started, "Would you tell Anthony, like if you were in my shoes, and Anthony was in Mikey's?" 

"I...I don't know, I think I'd rather let my parents tell em', It would probably make him probably hate me. You know?" Frank was right, it could certainly cause tension between the siblings if anything like that was said - or revealed. 

Gee was also right, Mikey didn't know. Donald obviously had no plans on telling either of them about Donna's unbelievable rise from the dead, he had almost thirty years to do so but he kept her a secret. Maybe he had good intentions, but they weren't shown. 

Two days had passed since Kristin's baby shower, or when Gee had accidentally found the box that contained letters from her supposedly dead mother, Donna, it's been speculated that she was alive for about a month, but she's known of her mother's death since she was only a toddler, for God sakes, she went to Donna's funeral. Donald didn't seem to notice that the box was gone, but it was only a matter of time before he did. 

Since finding the box of letters, Gee had been under a bit of a dark cloud, her life had just been turned upside down. As soon as she found the first letter, a wave of panic crashed into her. She vomited on the floor the moment she saw Donna's name at the bottom of the page, it was partially because of the note and the other half was due to the nausea that was unavoidable during pregnancy.

Sure, she wanted information from her father about Donna's mysterious death, but to find out that not only her father knew she was alive, but she had to find a shoe box filled to the brim of letters from the past twenty five years. It felt as if her Father had stabbed her in the back somehow, or betrayed her trust.

There was a part of her that somewhat understood what Donald's intentions were, that is if he had any, but the majority of herself couldn't forgive him. Her mother was ripped away from everything in her life, from her first day of school, to her marriage to Frank and the expectancy of her first children. Sure, she still had a deep hatred for her mother because of the choices she had made even before she disappeared, but Donna could've gotten clean, she could've actually been there for her children, but she just...left. 

On that morning of April 7th, Gee had dedicated a few hours of her day to begin the tedious task of reading every letter that Donna had sent. 

It was an awfully tricky task to try to put together what the conversations were- as they only had Donna's side of them, some of the topics stuck out more than others. Something that Gee stumbled upon, was a letter that consisted of Donna's excitement regarding Gee's pregnancy. A little part of her didn't want Donna to know, she didn't even want Donna to see her children, and Donald seemed to send Donna photos of nearly everything. Graduations, weddings, birthdays, etc. 

Reading letters that went from present to past was almost like going through a time machine. There were a lot of letters in that pile, she wasn't able to go through every letter in that box, but she was able to read everything from January 2010, to October of 2009. Frank offered his help in reading them, but it would be confusing for them to go in a strange order, so he sat across from her with his Armstrong Reissue, strumming tunes on the instruments to fill the quiet air. The ongoing April storms flooded the streets outside, the house was completely dark on the inside with only illuminated by various lamps. The thunder cracked outside, it was only a matter of time before the power went out. 

After a while, they decided that a break would be good. Gee had been reading pages upon pages of letters from her mother, and it was beginning to give her a terrible headache. She suggested that she and Frank make some lunch, then they would move on to discussing the layout of the potential videos. She still brought the box she actually needed back, it was what she initially went to Donald's house for. 

"That sounds like a great plan," Frank agreed. "I think that tonight calls for some homemade pizza, what do you think? Or, we can bust out those delicious veggie burgers, that way we can make pickle faces with pickle-seed boogers." 

"Pickle-seed boogers, how could I say no? Veggie burgers it is." she said as she got up from her sitting position on the floor, one hand on her belly. "Ow-Ow, what the-?" A sharp, sudden pain shot through her abdomen like a knife. It felt like a very intense menstrual cramps, but something was off about it. They felt familiar.

"Is it your scoliosis?" he asked, his guitar was placed on it's stand that rested against the wall. 

"I don't know, there was like, a cramp but in my uterus. Kind of like, uh, that time of the month kind of cramp but obviously I don't uh, have to worry about that now."

"Did you eat something you shouldn't have? Like, that could've upset your stomach? Chocolate chip cookies..." 

"No, or at least I don't think I did, but please don't mention those until I've given birth, I-"

"Gee, what if we lost a baby? When we lost the other baby, that's - that's how you said that they felt, like period cramps-" now Frank was officially worried , the possibility of it being related to the babies quickly popped into his mind. 

"Oh my god, Frank," she whined, another stab when into her stomach, an almost paralyzing sense of fear brushed over her. "I need to call Florence, I'm not bleeding?" 

"Just, call her to be safe. Would it be better if we went up to the hospital? Or, to your doctor?" 

"I don't know, let me just, let me call her." she quickly pulled her phone out from her pocket, and dialed Florence's number. After a few rings, she picked up, her voice soft and warm. She picked up on the distress in Gee's voice, it was almost hard for Gee to get the words out, another cramp hit her in the midst of talking to Florence. 

Gee told her that she had suddenly began to feel harsh cramps in her uterus area, and how she and Frank both feared that it might've been the start of the loss of one of the three babies. It felt the same, but there wasn't any bleeding or nausea that she felt when they lost their first baby. Florence snickered a bit, which kind of irritated Gee because it seemed like she didn't take the matter seriously, but Florence told her that she was most likely feeling Braxton Hicks contractions, or practice contractions. Gee, she had no idea what those were, it didn't make her feel any less worried about the matter, In fact, it worried her a little more. 

Florence tried to assure her that everything was alright, but Gee didn't believe it, she had already gotten in the worst mindset as she feared for her babies. She was terrified that there would be a relapse of the past, it would certainly crush everything that they've built, all of the preparation for the birth of their children would come crashing down on their worlds. 

To ease the expecting mother's worry, Florence said that she would stop over with her doppler, or handheld ultrasound machine to make sure that the babies were alright. In the meantime, Florence told Gee to lay down on the couch with her feet propped up, she also suggested that she also try to find a pattern in her contractions in case she was going into premature labor. After hanging up with Florence, Frank helped her up and down to the living room sofa, he brought her a glass of ice water and made sure that she propped her feet up, they tried to time the contractions but they seemed all over the place. Five minutes, two minutes, ten minutes, and so forth. They were very sporadic, but it still caused them to worry about premature labor, or loss of one of the babies. 

"I'm so scared." she muttered, her voice cracked a bit. "What if my smoking did something to them, or taking Xanax? I would never be able to forgive myself, It'll be all my fault." 

"Gee." frank sighed. "We don't need to worry about that right now, we just need to make sure that our kids are alright. Even if there's the slightest thing wrong, you can't smoke anymore, no more pills, no booze, nothing, not even cough medicine, not until they're out of the womb and they're healthy. Can you promise me that you won't touch any of that?" 

Frank knew she had struggled with addiction for years, and still did, it was hard for her to give up cigarettes, medication, or alcohol, the trio was her kryptonite, she knew - and Frank knew that it would be extremely difficult for her to stay away from all of that, it would cause her a lot of issues if she stopped suddenly, but she would only have to stop for seven weeks, but seven weeks would feel like a lifetime for her. The choice shouldn't have been as hard as it was for her, she needed to choose her unborn children and husband over the narcotics, nicotine, and alcohol, she did not want to end up like her deadbeat mother. So despite the personal consequences she would have to face in the long run, she made the promise to Frank that she would not touch any of that. 

It seemed to be just a small price to pay for the well-being of her unborn daughters, and son. Gee did not want her children to not have a mother, she knew what that was like and she did not want her children to go through that. She decided that she would do a lot of thinking about this, and how to approach the situation carefully. The best part about it, was that she knew Frank would be right next to her throughout the entire process.

"Oh boy, another contraction-" she gasped, her body tensed in pain as she kept a hand on her stomach, eyes squeezed shut. "Son of a bitch-" 

"Breathe, it's okay." his voice was soft, he kissed her shoulder and rubbed her stomach. Then he looked down at his watch, timing the contraction. "Six minutes." 

"Six minutes of fucking agony, shit." her hand squeezed his, her knuckles turned a white shade. The pain subsided within three minutes, then it was time to play the waiting game as to when another contraction would hit. Tears welled in her eyes, the tightening around her stomach seemed to get worse with every contraction. She had even began to doubt that she would be able to birth the babies, as she didn't want to have any medication because it could possibly spark up her addiction. 

Frank talked her through the contraction, he comforted her to the best of his ability. He felt bad watching her in pain like that, but he wasn't able to take it away from her. 

Within the hour, Florence arrived at their home with her portable ultrasound machine. She could tell that Gee had been in pain for a while, her face was flushed, she was both tense and shaky from the constant pain. Her hair was slightly damp from perspiration. She could also sense the worry between the couple, it was obvious from both of their expressions and the tone in their voices. 

She sat everything up next to their couch, then hiked the bottom of Gee's sweater up so it was bunched just under her breasts. Then Florence squeezed a hefty amount of the blue colored goo onto her stomach, then used the probe to smear it around. The anxiety between Frank and Gee became increasingly bad as Florence moved the probe around, they both feared for the worse. Then Florence pressed a button that allowed them to hear the heartbeats of the three growing babies. 

"Hear that? I can hear all three heart beats, they're all strong and perfect. There's nothing you should worry about." Florence said, and a great weight was lifted off of their shoulders. "I can see their little hearts beating, it's almost like a little firefly shining it's light." 

"Then what the hell was that? It felt like someone was like, stabbing me." 

"Braxton hicks contractions, like I said." 

"Yeah, but what are they?"

"They're practice contractions, they just prepare your body for when you actually go into labor. From what I can tell, your cervix hasn't dilated at all, and shouldn't until June 10th." she explained. "You'll know when you're in actual labor, your water will break and contractions will be regularly spaced. " 

"Oh, right. So I'm not in labor?" 

"No, you aren't, but I would advise that you stay on bedrest for a while before the triplets are born, you should stay in bed for the majority of the time. Being in your final month, especially with three babies will make it very difficult to walk without pain, as your hips will begin to spread for the delivery." she explained further, and they nodded in response to the order. "Would you like to find out the genders? You're more than far along enough to find out, or did you want to keep it a surprise?" 

"No, we already know, we found out like two months ago, but Frank was on tour, so it was kind of a spontaneous thing." she shrugged, "We're having two daughters and a son. We, er- Frank picked out our daughter's names, they're beautiful, but we have yet to name our son." 

"Girls make wonderful babies, though boys tend to be a tad bit ornery." 

"Can we see him? Like, can you find our son?" Frank asked. He looked over the screen hoping to identify one as the boy, but it looked like a TV screen had gone static, he was surprised to not hear that annoying sound that always came with a lost connection. 

"Let's see..." Florence hummed, then continued to scan over the three babies. Gee, and Frank both looked at the screen as she moved the probe. She looked between the legs of all three, and finally found the male of the bunch, he was in the middle of her belly, between the two girls. 

Florence pointed him out when she switched the setting to a 3D style, and Frank looked at the screen in awe. His eyes became glassy and fluid filled them, his heart thumped in his chest as he saw his son's face for the very first time, then Florence showed the girls, Frank made a comment to Gee on how beautiful they were. Gee saw them as her reason to be the best mother she could be, it's what really gave her the realization that she would soon have children to take care of, like they were real humans inside of her, the baby from three years ago, and the one from nearly ten years ago, were real humans too, and she wasn't able to see either of them like that, it almost gave her a greater sense of appreciation, and love towards the unborn children that waited to join the world as people.

-

After Florence had given Gee a clean bill of health in regards to the triplets, Frank made them a pot of tea so they could discuss things that would be useful to know, and some ideas for the gender reveal party that did not involve cake, or balloons. Florence told them that it was more so up to them, as it relied on their own personal taste and what they liked, so she asked them what kind of things they did enjoy. She meant books, television shows, movies, bands, etc. 

Gee was a little mellow, she seemed tired, sad, or even a mix of both. What had happened hit a little too close to home, but what happened was perfectly normal, it just wasn't something she had expected to happen. Maybe it would've been a good idea to continue reading that book Jamia had given her, but it had somehow turned into a coaster for her mug on her desk. But one particular thing had stood out among their interests. Florence had seen a few couples do something that had the topic of interest as their theme, however, she had an idea that could certainly work better in the case of triplets. 

The parents-to-be thought it was a great idea, and discussed it further when the midwife had left. Though she left pictures of each individual baby, their faces, body, and all for Gee, and Frank to hold on to. Frank was quick to put them in the scrapbook Gee had gifted him for their Anniversary. They were neatly placed behind the clear film in the book, right next to photos from Frank's tour. The date was written below the new sonogram photos. "04-07-10"

They took that opportunity to look through the photographs, from the start of their relationship, until the last photo taken. They looked through the photographs as they laid in their bed, Gee's head was rested on Frank's chest as they each held a side of the book. Gee's contractions stopped shortly after Florence had left, but she was still on edge, waiting for another one to hit. 

"Remember that?" she giggled, pointing to a photo of them at a bar. Frank sat on her lap, they both held beers and wore tiaras. Frank had this goofy expression to his face, he was obviously drunk and so was Gee, her cheeks were red from laughing at Frank, they were obviously happy. 

"Oh, yeah, that was a few nights before our wedding. Anthony, and Lindsey, took us out for drinks, I guess we got too carried away that night. I hardly remember anything." he stated, that night in February a blur. "Though, I remember us sharing a joint in the bathroom, then I think you gave me a hand job."

"Yea, I did. You totally ruined my favorite jeans, by the way, shoulda aimed for the toilet."

"Wait- what's that?" he asked as he pointed at a polaroid of himself, Anthony, and Gee. They were all on the couch with a container of Chinese take-out in their lap, Anthony held the camera and snapped a photo of them all. The date from the photo was written on the bottom, (07.30.2006)

They remembered that day as the day they moved into their new home, the one Frank had inherited from his Grandfather after he had passed away. It was shortly after they had gotten married, only two months after the wedding his Grandfather slipped away, they moved into the house towards the end of July, when Anthony came to visit them. That weekend was one they would never forget, they drunk until they couldn't walk, unpacked nearly every box that could fit into the home, and acted like it was still 2005, in a small New York apartment that had absolutely no parental supervision. 

The night of Chinese and the final stages of moving into their home stuck out the most, as it would be remembered always as the night they lost their first child to a miscarriage. That photo of the twins and one of the twin's wife was taken just hours before one of the hardest obstacles they had to face, calm before the storm as some would say, that photo was the calm before the storm.

"Shit." Gee muttered, then took the photo out of the scrapbook. "I don't, I don't know why I added that. It must've just, slipped into the pile of photos." 

"I don't even remember Anthony taking a photo, hell, I don't even remember seeing that photo ever. And it's been like, four years, surely would've come across It at some point in time." 

"It's fucking, ugh, you know what?" 

"What?"

"Let's fucking burn it." she suggested, pushed the scrapbook away, then sat up from her position. "That's the only photo we have from that summer, we're just going to keep looking at it and be reminded of the child we could've had right now. It shouldn't be in a book of memories that should be happy ones, like our wedding, or the condom wrapper. "

Frank looked at her with a look on his face, his mouth was turned upwards in almost a smirk, but it was a soft smile. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a zippo lighter his Dad have to him, lit it, then held it up to the corner of the polaroid. The square shaped photo's corner began to warp as the flame burned. A little fragment of that night burned away in front of them, their faces slowly warped and turned into grey smoke. 

It seemed as if they were mesmerized by the burning photo, they stared at the photo until the flame burned out, it burned the tips of Gee's index finger and thumb in the process. All that was left, was a little corner of the photo, almost as if the photo hadn't even existed. 

"It's gone." was whispered, she had begun to get a little choked up. "I-I know it was just a photo, but, it was taken that night and I know every time I would've looked at that fucking photo, I'll be reminded of that night, I just want us to let it go." 

"Don't cry, it's okay." his voice was comforting, he cupped her cheeks and kissed her lovingly. "Gee, what you did was very - how do I say this, brave. I'm very proud of you. Shit, I probably wouldn't have the balls to do that." 

"We should've made an appointment, the moment we found out I was pregnant. Maybe then-"

"Darling, listen," he stroked her cheek with his thumb. "We should have, we really should have made an appointment, but Emmett said it himself, either way you would've lost the baby. That baby, just, wasn't meant to like, be born. Seeing you be pregnant and to see our kids develop over the last seven months kind of, uh, helped me get over the one we lost. I know it's been hard for you, but like ,It's time that we focus on these babies." his hand went to her belly, where he felt one of the babies kick from the inside. 

She nodded in agreement. Four years had passed since they lost the baby, they had three on the way. What happened to them was traumatic, and heartbreaking, but there was not much they could've done to prevent the loss of their child, it was completely out of their hands and it seemed that it was time for them to accept that, and try to move on, otherwise it would just eat them up from the inside. 

"I love you, Frank," she whispered, then kissed his nose. The cool metal of the silver hoop on the right side of his nose just barely touched her lips. 

"I love you more, Jiggy." he cupped her cheek and kissed her forehead, the musky scent of her shampoo radiated into his nose. There was no reason as to why Frank called her Jiggy, it was sort of a name that surfaced during their relationship. Mikey picked up on the name and joked about telling his kids to call Gee, "Aunt Jiggy".

The duo soon prepared dinner, she made sure to drink plenty of water while she was on her feet to curb any pending contractions. The animals came into the kitchen for their own dinner, Frank commented on how much Mama had grown since they found her back in December, she seemed to be comfortable in the home with the other two pets and the newly found family. 

She sat down at the kitchen table before the meal was prepared, as her back began to act up as it normally did. She brought the box of the old screenplay down to the kitchen and neatly stacked them in order, so it would be easier to organize on the living room floor, she also brought down a sketchbook, watercolor markers, a pencil, and an eraser so they could begin the process of sketching out the screenplay for the music videos. 

Frank did as promised, he served her food with a face made of pickle slices, and a pickle-seed booger on top of the middle pickle. A glass of cranberry juice was poured for her, and Frank poured himself a glass of iced tea with a slice of lemon on the rim of the glass. The television that hung on the wall next to their kitchen table played the latest New Jersey Devils game. When the opposing team scored and tied with the Devils, Frank picked up his empty plate and nearly hurled it at their matte, cranberry colored wall. 

What stopped him from doing it, was the power going out suddenly, the thunder and lightning outside must've hit a transformer. Frank, and Gee lit candles around the kitchen, and living room in their home to compensate for the lack of light. 

Then after dinner, they both worked on cleaning up the kitchen, then went into their living room to begin the long process of planning out the videos. The former pages of The Breakfast Monkey were slightly yellow and had a putrid stench of mildew and dust from staying in the dark, dusty attic.

"Explain the plot again?" she asked, a pencil in her hand and her sketchbook in her lap. 

"We're in all white, and like, as the music starts and we're doing our thing, blood comes out of everywhere. My mouth, the walls, on the drums, think of the Shining elevators, or Carrie getting doused in that bucket of hog blood." 

"That sounds fucking cool, Frank," 

"I know. Do you know how to make fake blood?" 

"Corn syrup and food coloring, but that shit stains like hell. Halloween makeup, or special effects blood works the best for things like this, the corn-syrup concoction is like the poor-man's fake blood." her gaze was still on the paper, the supplies she needed rested on top of her belly, almost like a shelf. 

With a few last flicks of her wrist, the majority of the screenplay for "Joyriding" was finished. The red watercolor mimicked blood on the sketches of the band members, Frank's tattoos were - for the most part- scribbles, almost like they were all cartoon characters. The backdrop was a pearl white with some shadows, steaks and splatters of blood decorated the white, it resembled the wall of a slaughterhouse. That might've been Frank's inspiration, or it could've been the idea of being coated in blood for a darker feel to his music. 

When shown the drawing, Frank was instantly in love. He could see the video already happening inside of his mind, like a slideshow. Nearly everything that he brainstormed for that video was right in front of him on paper, The individual drawings were cut out from the sketchbook, and pinned onto a poster-board that rested on an easel. They studied the poster for a while, trying to determine if there was anything that they could add, revise, or delete from the plan. 

Frank was completely satisfied with what they had created, not only was he satisfied with the plan, he was awestruck by his wife's abilities to create something that was a fragment of his imagination, to various drawings in such a short period of time. 

A while passed before they chose to turn in for the night. Though, they read books before it was time for lights out, Frank and Gee both read their individual copies of the book Jamia had given them, and upon reading, they furthered their limited knowledge about Braxton Hicks, and the difference between them and actual labor contractions. They also found out that their babies were able to hear them. They would know if they could hear, if they moved within the womb, and Frank put that theory to the test. 

With one hand on her belly, Frank began to talk to the babies that rested in her uterus. Gee had one hand next to his, hoping to feel one of them move. They had no luck in feeling them, they quite possibly could've been asleep inside of the womb, but Frank, and Gee would certainly continue to try. Maybe they would play music, read- or sing to them, whatever they could do to make their children hear their voices. There was a chance that they had already been hearing them, but it was hard to know when they did, or if. Their ears were still very sensitive, everything could've sounded like a high pitched whistle. 

Their books were pushed aside and the candles were blown out, Frank spooned her as they laid on their sides, her hand rested on top of his as they laid together, she could feel his heartbeat on her back, and his breath on the back of her neck. A part of her was scared to fall asleep, as the risk of that nightmare reoccurring was very high, but she didn't have that nightmare, instead; it was something that would soon become reality, and it was not about the triplets.


	24. Far Beneath The Trees

04/09/2010

week 27 | 6 weeks away from the due date

-

Twenty-Nine years ago, a baby girl was born to Donald Way, and his wife, Donna Lee Rush. It was a day that neither parents could forget, their first born child entered the world, kicking and screaming in distress. The girl was brought into the world with the promise of a great life, neither of her parents knew what she would amount to, but they had a feeling that she would do something extraordinary. 

Throughout the years that the girl grow up, she achieved many things. Awards, stunning grades - especially in art, and science, and a degree in cartooning. After college, she scored a job with a popular television company that produced comic books, where she created her very own cartoon, but was rejected by the company. Many years later, she went on to marry a man who was the love of her life, spend many wonderful years with him, and became pregnant with triplets by the time she turned 29. 

The morning of her birthday, the dark, gloomy, humid day in New Jersey, Gee thought about everything that she had accomplished as she sat in a warm, steaming, bubble bath with her husband. Frank had surprised her when she came back from a hike, with her favorite breakfast and the promise of a great day. Up in their bedroom, was a trail of rose petals leading to a bath Frank had ran during their meal, candles lit up the room and a collection of her favorite music played. Two ice cold bottles of IBC root beer were in a bucket or ice, and a bowl of her favorite jelly beans sat next to it. 

Every year on her birthday, she reminisced on the past years of her life and how drastically she had changed. On her 28th birthday, she was a lady working at an old company that sold vintage instruments, the thought of never having children embedded into her mind, but she still had one of the greatest thing in her life, her husband. Her 27th birthday was the worst, as she and her husband were still greatly affected by the loss of their first child, her marriage was brittle and hanging on by a thread, but by the strength found deep within them, they made it through the rough patch, making her 28th birthday far better than her 27th. 

The rain continued to pour outside, the power didn't go out, but Frank lit many scented candles around the bathroom to create a comfortable scenery for his wife. The white, glistening, mound of bubbles surrounded them, they covered her breasts almost like a shirt, but that didn't stop Frank's hands from finding them underneath the mass of scented bubbles. 

"Frankie.." she giggled, she felt his hands on her breasts. "I thought we were going to wait until after dinner?"

"Doesn't the birthday girl want an early gift?" he teased, his bottom lip between his teeth, and a dark look in his eye. Their bodies were only a few inches apart, the mound of bubbles separated them. He leaned closer to kiss her, their lips connected in a warm, sweet kiss. She blushed and rolled her eyes, her hand went up to his face, cupping his scratchy cheek. 

In response to his suggestive question, she nodded and blushed, excitement bubbled in her stomach. Their lips locked and their tongues danced, their teeth often scraped together as they kissed. 

A loud ring from the side of the bathtub killed the moment, the sudden loud noise made the pair jump slightly and pull away from each other. Gee looked over to check out the caller ID, it was Matthew, from D.C. comics. It must've been a follow-up on her interview, since she had sent over a quick, small comic that Matthew needed. 

"It's Matthew." she said and picked up her phone, staring at the name as the phone continued to ring. Frank told her that she should answer it, and that she shouldn't be worried about what he might say - or what he might not say, so she answered him with a mute, yet, professional greeting. 

The man she despised tried to make quick small talk before he got to the point, but she wasn't very interested in the small talk, and he knew that, he always seemed to try and find a way to wiggle his way back onto her good side, but he had absolutely no luck. After what he had done to her in the past, she would be just fine if she never had to see him again, and she wasn't the type to have hatred like that inside of her. 

Once he had gotten the hint, he got to the point of his call. Matthew told Gee that he had went over her work with Claudia, and a handful of other executives at the company, and they've reached a decision on her future at the company. Her heart pounded in her chest, she felt as if her whole life had led up to that moment. The many years of school, hundreds if not thousands of sketches and other art pieces, it could the start of her career as a published comic book author. 

"After we had met with a lot of people from corporate, we had copies of your work printed and everyone at the meeting was given a copy, we've made a choice." he explained, she could hardly hear him over her heart thumping in her chest. "Congratulations, we've signed you as our newest comic book writer." 

"Oh my god," she muttered, "Thank you for letting me know, I really appreciate it." 

"You're very talented, Miss. Way, we would've made a big mistake if we didn't sign you." he added, "Our schedule is a little packed for the remainder this month, how does early May sound to discuss a book deal? We really enjoyed the Umbrella Academy, we would love to publish that as soon as we can. I'll shoot you an email confirming the details as it gets closer." 

"That's great, I'll be looking forward to it." she said, then they hung up. The phone with a black case was set aside before she faced Frank, he seemed to be on the edge of his seat to know that the verdict was. She was almost in a state of shock, she truly didn't believe that she would get the job. For the first time, she told someone that she was officially a signed author, it felt so surreal for her to say that - it was something she never would have the chance to say. "Frank, I got the job! Matthew just told me-"

"Aw, I knew it!" He exclaimed, "I'm so proud of you, Jiggy!" He cupped her cheeks and kissed all over her face, obviously very proud of his Wife's accomplishment. Water sloshed and spilled out from the side of the porcelain bath, and onto their marble tiled floor. 

"Thank you, baby." She smiled into the kiss, happiness sparkled in her brown eyes.

"You're incredible, Gee, I know that you're going to do amazing things at D.C., you are so talented and utterly perfect. They certainly made the best choice ever by hiring you."

Her heart felt as if it was going to explode, she was over the moon about the news of being signed with a company she had been trying for years to sign with, and the overwhelming love she felt for Frank in that moment. He was proud of her, that's what meant the most to her. Even if she didn't land the job, Frank would be equally as proud of her because she made it so far with her career, and never stopped trying to achieve what she wanted.

Not only was he immensely proud of her, she felt just as - if not more proud of him. Frank had his meeting with his record label the day prior, and was told that he was able to go through with creating the videos he had in mind. His manager said that it would be great promotion for his music, but Frank didn't want promotion, he wanted to do what he loved, and that was to create music. Frank would begin to start up the process of filming very soon, he knew from the beginning that he would want his father to assist him in the process.

For now, they wanted to focus on what the day was and how things seemed to be smoothly and according to plan, like the Universe decided to cut them a little break for a while, like it threw a bone to them. Especially after throwing the bombshell of Gee's mother being alive, and the very recent pregnancy scare. Though, the timing of these developments was certainly wasn't the best, as they had less than two months before Gee's due date, so they would have to get things in order before June 10th. 

-

After the bubble bath, the pair got dressed. Frank wore a striped black and white shirt, ripped jeans, and a pair of black vans that had a white stripe to the side, overtop of the shirt, he wore the Fred Perry, olive green jacket that Gee had gifted him for their anniversary. Silver hoops were threaded through his bottom lip and his nostril, his hair was slicked back with a very small amount of gel. 

Gee dressed in a pair of leather pants that were almost too small, but they didn't make any maternity leather pants, Dr. Marten shoes, black sunglasses, completed with a white, and black plaid shirt. While she got ready, she gave herself a haircut to freshen up her look, It was much shorter than it was before, it had previously went down to her shoulders, but it just went down past her earlobes. It was still a raven black, but her chestnut brown roots peeked through just a bit. Her eyes were rimmed with a smoked out black eyeliner, and her neck, and chest were spritzed with Paperback cologne, one of the very few types of cologne that did not nauseate her, even the lotion she used on her belly to prevent stretchmarks made her stomach turn. She had noticed how large her stomach, and breasts had gotten since the beginning of her pregnancy, after all it had been about five months since they had found out about the pregnancy, and she didn't begin to show until around 10 weeks. The checkered pattern on her shirt didn't slim her down, instead it accentuated the size of her body. 

Frank was surprised by the sudden change in her appearance, but he loved the change, he thought the short hair really suited her facial structure, the black hair complimented her ghostly skin and hazel eyes. She was breathtakingly beautiful with the change, it brought back the memories of when she had a similar hairstyle in college, but it was much greasier and unkept than it was. 

"Wow," he muttered, awestruck. "You look dazzling, like, you're glowing." 

"Thank you, Lero." she smiled, porcelain cheeks tinted a delicate rosy pink. She cupped his cheeks and kissed him, she could taste the mint on his breath and the sweet flavor of cherry on his lips. "Lero" was almost like Frank's "Jiggy", his last name was always misspelled so she made a nickname out of it. "You, well, you look beautiful as always." she said as she brushed a stray hair behind his ear.

Frank smiled and blushed, he muttered an 'oh fuck you.' in a modest way. She giggled at his modesty and how cute he was when he got defensive, the way his face got all red and how he smiled that shy smile, he was absolutely gorgeous. 

-

With the whicker picnic basket filled with a bottle of chilled sparkling cider, sandwiches, fruit, an assortment of Gee's most recent pregnancy cravings, packed In the back of Frank's jet black car, they left their home. Within a short period of time, they made it to the park in New Jersey that was known as one of their favorite spots. It wasn't much of a park, it was more so a place deep inside of the woods that Gee had favored in terms of places to hike. It was stumbled upon accidentally, when Gee thought she was being chased by something, she had no direction of where she was going, but when she found the hidden spot behind a thick brush of woods, she felt safe, almost attached to the beautiful spot. 

Deep inside the forest, was a cliff made of rock that had a steep drop into a large body of water. Evergreen trees, shrubs, and various types of flowers surrounded the secluded area. There was a large opening in the sky that had a perfect view of the stars at night, there were millions of bright stars above them, it was a very relaxing place that Gee often went to when she was stressed, upset, or she just needed a breather. Frank would go up with her sometimes, he loved it, but he was scared of the spiders, bears, snakes, and various insects that lingered and lurked in the forest. 

It was a dark, gloomy day in New Jersey, it was only mid-afternoon and it looked like It was in the late hours of the day. Frank came prepared, he stuck two lanterns in the back of his car that would work as faux sunlight. A olive green blanket was laid on the rock, and various pillows were placed around the blanket, the basket sat in the middle and the lanterns were placed on opposite corners of the blanket. His iPod was connected to a speaker, and he played a playlist he made specifically for Gee, it was a perfect blend of all of her favorite bands - Queen, Morrissey, David Bowie, Metallica, etc. 

Two glasses of cider were poured, but they didn't have normal champagne flutes, they had black colored solo-cups that worked just as well, and were entirely shatter-proof. 

"Sugared cranberries, and olives?" she looked into the basket and saw three of her favorites. "Fuck, Frankie, you're amazing." 

"I'm sorry I didn't bring the cold brew - there was one bottle left but someone swiped it before me." he said, his cup of cider in his hand. 

"It's okay, it was just a bottle of coffee, don't worry 'bout it." her voice cracked and tears welled in her eyes. It was not entirely worth getting upset over, it was a bottle of cold coffee, but being in the seventh month of her pregnancy, hormones fluctuated constantly and her moods shifted just as often. She fanned herself with her hand to cool off, she took deep breaths to aid in that. Frank couldn't help but snicker a little, he knew it was because of her pregnancy. 

He leaned over and wiped her tears away with a napkin, "Hey, don't cry," his tone was gentle. Frank kissed her nose then handed her another napkin. Gee's nose was red and her face was flushed, eyelashes damp with the salty fluid. She herself thought it was a little unnecessary to cry over, but it was like someone had a remote control that cued her to cry over everything. 

"Third time this week I've cried because we didn't have something," she sniffled, but it turned into a short burst of laughter over the matter. "Mini pizzas, cranberry juice, now cold brew coffee." 

"Does this have to do with cigarettes at all? You've been clean for two days, that's the longest you've gone since high school." 

"Yeah, maybe a little." Gee nodded as she wiped her nose with the napkin. "Frankie?"

"Yes?" 

"Would you maybe...kind of...smoke one? I miss the smell, fuck." 

"I quit smoking, too." he admitted. "It would kind of be a dick move of me to smoke while you're trying to quit, and it's really bad for my lungs especially if I have to use them more. I want to be around for my kids, I don't want to be coughing up black shit while I try and sing them a lullaby." 

"How aren't you pulling your hair out? My nails are non-existent anymore." 

"It's really hard, but like, I've found many distractions. Music, my amazing wife, and finishing up the preparations for the arrival of our babies." he explained. Then, he leaned back so his head rested on one of the pillow. "I'm very proud of you, Jiggy. I know it's hard to like, suddenly quit but, we're going through this together." 

"You're right, I just miss it." she sighed and leaned back, the container of sugared cranberries rested on her belly. It was one of the only perks of having a ginormous baby bump. 

Frank understood her cravings for the nicotine, normally he would offer her nicotine gum, but she was allowed to have absolutely no nicotine in her system. Frank didn't chew the gum either, it was almost giving in to the addiction. He assumed that's how those anti-smoking companies made their money.

-

As the afternoon progressed, they laid in that secluded area and enjoyed nature. While the two looked around for a bathroom, a lonely raccoon waddled out of the thick bushes in search of food. The feral, striped-tailed animal sniffed around the picnic basket, his snout dug around the containers and bags, until with his little black paws, he grabbed a handful of Gee's sugared cranberries and ran away quickly. A scattered trail of the crystal coated, burgundy spheres led to a different bush. Then, a second raccoon came out and stole the plastic bag filled with crème filled cookies, a third stole Frank's half eaten sandwich, and a forth took the bag of sliced carrots and celery. 

The four raccoons wrecked their picnic, half of the wrapped food was stolen and hidden in various bushes around the cliff. Throw pillows were kicked around, their cups were spilled over, and one of the lanterns were knocked down. The masked animals had their own little picnic upon destroying an innocent couple's lunch. 

Frank and Gee came stumbling out of the woods, their hands worked at their buttons. They noticed the crime scene almost immediately and how it turned into a disaster so quickly. "What the hell happened here?" 

"Oh no, my cranberries are gone, and my sandwich." she pointed out. Gee wondered what animal possibly stole their food, but then she saw a striped tail and a masked face poke out from the bushes. "Raccoons, the stole our food. I guess it's better than eating spoiled food from the city garbage cans." 

"I think that might be time that we go into phase two of your birthday, I think that you're really going to like it." 

"Oh?" she was intrigued. She never knew what Frank had up his sleeve, let alone when he was entirely up to the decisions that would fill up their day. "We're not going on a plane, are we? The last time you had a date planned out, we ended up in France. It was a sweet weekend, but I don't have any Xanax left, and I'm kind not smoking anymore, so." 

"No, nothin' like that." he giggled, "We're going to the Boardwalk. I thought that we could relive old times, maybe steal a stuffed polar bear from the dart stand, eat cotton candy until our mouths are bluer than the ocean. Then, when we get home, I have a few more surprises for you, and I'm hoping that you haven't looked underneath our bed at all."

"Frankie, I can't even crouch to pick anything up, let alone look under our bed where there's a space that's barely taller than the depth of a book. I can assure you that I haven't seen anything, though I think I might've accidentally kicked something wrapped under the bed last night." 

"I'm glad you weren't able to get a glimpse, because I think what I bought, will knock your Yoda socks off."he said and she giggled. They packed the remainder of their destroyed picnic up and used a lantern to find their way back to the black vehicle through the thick woods.

On their way back, Frank could've sworn that he saw a bear lurking behind some trees, it's big eyes staring at him, waiting to attack. It could've been anything, but he grabbed Gee's hand and ran away with her. She gasped in surprised and nearly tumbled over a fallen tree, as did Frank, he didn't pay much attention to what was around him, but instead getting away from the beat that would've been lurking in the woods. Leaves, and stray, broken twigs crunched under their feet as they ran out of the woods, soon they found an opening, not the one they were looking for, but their car was easily seen and just a few feet away.

They were both out of breath by the time they stopped, Gee's asthma ridden, smoke-tarred lungs had almost completely given out. "Was the Blair Witch chasing us?" she wheezed, barely able to catch her breath. 

"No," he panted, "I saw a fuckin' bear, and quite frankly, I'm not in the mood to get mauled by a hungry black bear."

"Shit, fuck, I feel like I just got kicked in the diaphragm by Bruce Lee." her hands were on her knees as she slowly regained her breath, it was a painful process, but it slowly came back. 

"Wait, holy shit, what's that?" Frank noticed a cathedral church with a crucifix on the top, just through a clearing in the overgrown bushes. Black crows squawked and circled around it, as if the scene had been taken straight out of a 1970's horror film. He was almost immediately intrigued by the building, it almost looked haunted, as if he shouldn't go near it, but that made it more exciting to go towards. He suggested that they go check it out, though her chest still wheezed and hurt, she was all for it. She still had the lantern, which would make it easier to navigate through the overgrown weeds, bushes, and grass. 

Normally, a man who came across a seemingly haunted church would be terrified, like the kind of guy that would suffer from the heebie-jeebies for a long period of time after encountering said building. Frank, however, genuinely enjoyed the thrill and adrenaline rush of being in the presence of fear, or unsafety, in short, he loved being scared. Gee felt the same to an extent, she loved old horror movies, or anything that would send chills down her spine and make the hair on her neck stand up, but only God knew what lurked in there, zombies, homeless people, rabies-plagued animals, anything really could be in there, but she was willing to take that risk of finding out what exactly was in that old church. 

A path of cracked stone led up to the front door, old, dead rose bushes were in baskets next to the front door, they were brown and could crumble at the easiest touch. There seemed to be no electricity in the building, like it had been abandoned for years. The windows, and stained glass were cracked, the door wasn't locked and made an awfully loud creaking sound when the door was pushed opened. 

"Uh, hello?" Gee called out, her voice echoed through the church. She could vaguely make out the pews as her eyes adjusted to the darkness, maybe the stand in which caskets would lay during a wake, or the pastor's stand where he stood to read excerpts from religious literature. "Seems like it's empty. Wanna go in?" 

"I don't think it's a good idea that you do, God knows what kind of shit lingers in that air, you can get really sick." 

She handed him the lantern, then pulled out a yellow bandana form the back of her leather pants. The lemon yellow fabric was tied around the back of her head so it would cover her nose, and mouth. "Crisis averted." 

\- 

For nearly two hours, they explored the abandoned church. A thick layer of dust and debris covered nearly every surface, mice squeaked and ran across Frank, and Gee's feet, spiders and various other bugs were crawling around every corner in that place, the ceilings and pews were nicely decorated in cobwebs. It seemed to be in somewhat good shape, but it in that good of a contrition that was ready for anyone to be married in. The floorboards were squeaky, the doors creaked loudly, and there was a strong, musty, foul odor in the air. 

An old, cherry stained casket rested on the stand at the front of the church, it was closed but the chances of a body being in there was very slim. Frank thought about climbing into the casket for fun, contemplated it for a while, then handed Gee the lantern and ran up to the casket. 

"Frank, what are you doing? Are you showing your butt?" she asked him and walked closer to the casket. 

"No."

"Don't knock it off!' she warned as she saw the casket wobble. Frank giggled and still tried to get into the casket, it was elevated and almost too tall for him. She laughed at the sight, his struggle to get into the casket was similar to a kitten trying to climb onto a couch that was far too high. His legs wiggled as he finally hoisted his upper body into the old, dusty, smelly, casket that more than likely held a dead person at some point in time. 

Frank shuffled in the casket to get himself comfortable, which was surprisingly not hard. His head was on the cushion, and his hands were folded on his lap. He closed his eyes and laid still to give the appearance that he was dead. 

"Frank Iero Jr. was the husband of Geralyn Way, father of three children, brother of Anthony Iero. Frank was a talented, loving, and caring man." she said sarcastically, she walked closer to the casket with one hand on her belly. Frank tried his best to not giggle while in the casket, but a smile was unavoidable. "Frank was truly an amazing man, but he never ever matched our socks accordingly, or he would leave cheese from pizza at the bottom of the toaster oven, so the kitchen would instantly fill with smoke every-time his wife wanted to toast a bagel." 

Then he actually giggled, he kept his mouth closed to muffle the giggle. Gee was now next to the casket, she kissed his warm forehead then she grabbed the top of the casket. "Now, it's time for the burial." 

Frank's eyes shot open and he grabbed her arm, "Don't-"

She giggled and kept her hand there, Frank cocked an eyebrow waiting for her to pull her hand away. The intense moment of staring was interrupted by the wood door slamming shut, she shrieked and pulled away, then the top of the casket fell with a loud thud, followed by Frank screaming. She tripped over her on feet and fell backwards, the lantern fell and rolled under the pews. 

Frank pushed the top of the casket up, and looked around. He saw Gee on her back on the floor, "Holy shit, are you okay? Should I call-"

"No, I'm fine. Just tripped." 

"What the fuck was that noise?"

"The door, must've been the wind, or some sort of spirit trying to trap us for being here uninvited." she groaned as she sat up, her back dirty with dust and leaves. She dusted the dirt off of her pants, then grabbed the lantern that fell. She helped Frank out of the casket so he wouldn't fall, or knock over the entire stand. 

Frank made a comment about zombies infesting the dark corners of the church, and that they should be quiet to not alarm the undead creatures, because they could rip out all of their organs and eat them like it was Thanksgiving, the three babies within Gee's uterus would've been ripped out and the umbilical cords could've been used as a jump rope for the zombies. Gee grimaced at the image, but she had watched The Walking Dead numerous times with Frank, it could happen at any time. 

Between the church, the casket, and the idea of undead creatures ripping apart innocent people, gave him an idea for a project. Aside from Joyriding, he still had two music videos to worry about, he had a few ideas for one of them, and that experience with the church gave him the best one yet. A spark of inspiration hit him, so when they got to the car without another encounter with a bear, or a spooky church, Frank pulled out his phone and recorded the idea down in his notes.

-

For a while, they walked around the New Jersey Boardwalk. Snacked on cotton candy, popcorn, and snow-cones. Gee played a claw machine and won Frank two prizes, a polar bear and a stuffed skeleton, then they went onto a few rides that were declared safe for women that were pregnant, such as a Ferris Wheel, and swings. Games were played at nearly every booth, their favorite was the game that was a shooter game, the kind where a bright spot would appear on something if shot by the laser beam from the gun.

The night at the boardwalk ended with their ride on the Ferris Wheel, stuck at the top with Gee's head on Frank's shoulder, their hands in a tangled mess as they looked over the ocean, the dim pink, orange, and yellow sunset peaked through the clouds that filled the sky over New Jersey. It was almost like their first date, the major differences were obviously the pregnancy, Frank no longer had greasy dreads that stunk horribly of weed, and they both had no idea where their lives would be going, let alone if they could work out a relationship. It made them think about how much 6 years could change a person. 

-

On their way home from the boardwalk, Frank stopped to get a few iced coffees from their favorite coffee shop, it made up for the cold brew that Gee lacked at the picnic. They made It home just before 8 P.M, the cloudy skies turned darker and thunder could be heard rumbling in the distance. 

A scarlet red gift back was on their front door stop, a balloon was tied to the gift bag's handle. For a second, she expected the bag to be from Donna, as she had left a gift bag like that for the triplets before, but it was from her Dad upon further inspection. Inside, it contained a birthday gift for Gee, which was a gift card to her favorite coffee shop, and a few copies of her favorite comics. It was sweet for the moment, but then she remembered what he had kept from her. 

The bag was set aside for the time being, she didn't want to think about anything negative on her birthday, especially when it was supposed to be a day for just her, and her husband. That husband of hers brought down the stack of wrapped gifts that had been hidden under their bed, and arranged them on the coffee table in their living room, but he held one of them in his lap, but that one, as he said, was to be opened last.

Hidden underneath the striped wrapping paper, were various gifts that Frank collected over the last few weeks. Rare, first editions of vintage Star Wars action figures that were still secured in their original packaging, a few jackets, records, nearly a dozen pairs of colorful socks, some had characters or strange patters, a Ziggy mug that was yellow and said, "Hang In There!", and a oujia board mug. There was also a gift that was more so directed towards her pregnancy, it was a pillow that was designed to conform to her body, as he knew that she had been having issues getting comfortable at night. Overall, she was very happy with what Frank had gotten her. 

Then, Frank gave her the final gift that was saved for last. It was wrapped in the same packaging, but it was much larger in size, it was almost like what a game system would come in. The box was velvet, black and the inside was lined with a beautiful, almost sparkling, ruby red. Underneath a thin piece of matching tissue paper, rested a satin black blindfold, a shiny, silver pair of handcuffs, a long, black colored silicone wrapped, device that had three buttons on the front, and a silk, red scarf. 

It took her by surprise, just a little, but it also excited her in a way that Frank surely expected when he purchased it. 

"Frank, holy shit," she almost gasped as she looked over the contents. Her pale fingers traced over the silk scarf, and the soft velvet of the box. 

"Do you uh, do you like it?" he almost sounded nervous, he wasn't sure if her "holy shit" was a good "holy shit", or a bad "holy shit". 

"Yes, I do, but I'm seven months pregnant, I think we've passed the point of being able to do uh, things like this when I suddenly grew a watermelon inside of me." though she didn't want to be the receiver of the products, she had another idea that Frank surely wouldn't be opposed to.

"What if, we switched places? The masochist inside of you could uh, maybe, make an appearance tonight?" 

"But love, it's your birthday. Don't ya want it to be about you? I'm totally down with that idea, for the record." 

"I really enjoy you topping, but like, I also really like this too. The twink inside of you just, it does something to me." she confessed. "But if you don't want to-" 

"Fuck yea." Frank nodded, and took the box from her lap and put it on his own. 

Gee could easily say that it was one of her most favorite things that they did in the bedroom, Frank felt the same, he thought it was hot to be in that submissive role almost, instead of being in that dominate role. He was a masochist, he greatly enjoyed being in that role just as much as if he was topping. 

A part of Gee was relieved that Frank would be wearing the blindfold because ever since entering the third trimester of her pregnancy, her body totally changed. Her belly was humungous, her boobs leaked colostrum, they had blue veins on them due to the flow of blood, she just didn't feel as sexy anymore, but she knew that Frank didn't mind whatsoever, it was just her own insecurities creeping up on her. 

\- there's smut ahead so If u don't want to read it, feel free to click away, it's nothing important for the story, just a little bday smut for Gee :-) yes it's sorta bdsm but like, it's not?? keep reading if u like the masochist side of frank lol

Frank had taken the box upstairs, and told Gee to wait about five minutes before she could come up. She took that time to drink a glass of ice water, and unbutton the first two buttons on her shirt so her cleavage was exposed. Frank certainly wouldn't complain about that, it took a little bit of the attention away from the watermelon under her shirt. 

As she finished her water, Frank called her up. Her heart leaped in her chest, she tried to keep her cool as she made her way up to the bedroom. The house seemed to go on forever before she had gotten up to the room, the bedroom door was closed and the only lighting in the dark room, came from their bed side lamps and a few scented candles. 

There Frank was, on their bed with his legs underneath him, hands folded behind his back, he was dressed in nothing but a pair of black Calvin Klein boxers. The items that came in the velvet box were placed in front of him neatly, starting with the blindfold and ending with the long toy. 

Gee's legs nearly gave out at the sight, he looked like he was used to this, he looked excited, hungry even. She walked closer to him, and noticed that he already sported a semi in his boxers. She leaned over on the bed and stroked his cheek, and kissed his lips softly, "You look beautiful, baby." 

"Thank you, Gee." his cheeks blushed, his hazel eyes dark.They didn't go as far as things such as pegging, or things that would end up in Frank's asshole. It was more of a psychological thing for them, to just have that feeling of being in control. Frank took pleasure in being pained, humiliated, he identified his sexual preferences as masochistic. 

She took a step back and looked over the scarf and blindfold, she held them in each of her hands, trying to decide on what to use to block Frank's visual sense. "What would you like, silk, or the blindfold?"

"Blindfold, please." he responded, "Gee?"

"Yes?"

"Could you uh, take your bra off? Your tits are kind of driving me insane, they have been, they're fucking huge." 

Gee looked over at him and cocked an eyebrow. "Sorry, I meant, 'Please, Gee, can I see them?"

She nodded and placed both objects back onto the bed, before she took hold of the third button on her shirt. Slowly, she unbuttoned the shirt until it was just a jacket, her scarlet red bra poked through the opening. Frank watched her with hungry eyes, waiting to see what he wanted. She shuffled the shirt off, allowing it to fall to the ground. Then her hands went behind her back to the clasp of her bra, each of the tiny hooks became unlatched one at a time. With the back unclasped, the garment became loose, her fingers looped around the silk straps, and slowly pulled them down all while Frank watched. 

Frank leaned closer and kissed her, her soft lips tasted sweet like honey. His hand went to her beast, still covered by her bra. In fear of colostrum making an appearance, she tutted and gently moved his hand away. He whined softly, wanting to feel the soft mounds of flesh. Gee pulled away, then tossed her bra to the side, it landed somewhere in the room that they would certainly find at a later time. 

"Like what you see?" she teased, and bit her lip seductively. Frank nodded and sucked in a sharp breath, the sight before him was nearly perfect. "You're making this hard on me Frankie, because you certainly aren't going to like what I have to do now. I know you want to uh, see me." 

"Gee..." he muttered, he wanted to continue to see her and any face of pleasure she would make, he wanted to see her sweaty. flushed, and with white stripes painting her breasts, eyelashes, and mouth. She hushed him, picked up the blindfold, kissed his lips then proceeded to slip the mask over his head. Those beautiful eyes of his were masked by a black blindfold, he could no longer see his wife in front of him, but instead he saw nothing but pure, and utter darkness. 

"You trust me, right, Frankie?" she whispered into his ear, goosebumps covered his skin. 

"Yes." 

"Then you'll know I won't do anything to hurt you, but if there's something you don't like, just, tell me, I'll stop immediately." 

Trust was important to both of them, especially in scenarios like that, it relaxed whoever was under the blindfold greatly. Frank nodded, and then laid against the bed with his head rested comfortably on a black pillow, he was instructed to put his arms above his head. Frank could feel Gee crawl over on the bed, the weight shifted from the bottom, to next to him. 

A cold metal bound his wrists together, it was tight, almost to the point that it cut off circulation but that was how he liked it. The masochist inside of him fed off of pain. His cuffed wrists rested above his head, he already felt the strain on his arms. Frank heard music begin to play in the room, soft Jazz. Then, he heard Gee's belt fall to the floor, followed by- what he assumed to be her pants. 

She was probably naked by then, or at least in her panties, and Frank really wanted to see that, he just had to rely on his mind to paint that gorgeous picture of her. He gasped all of a sudden, two gentle hands ran up his thighs, "Fuck," was muttered. The object within his boxers twitched as her hands got closer to the area, she must've been just a few inches away from him. 

"You must be every excited, baby, you're already so hard and haven't been touched yet." she said, noticing the tent in his boxers, it almost looked like he had stuck a banana inside of his boxers. 

Gee kissed his thighs while her hand went to the lump beneath the fabric, the man attached to the lump moaned at the sudden contact, his hips jerked subtly. Her hand stroked him through the fabric, the palm of her hand came in contact with a spot of dampness near the tip of Frank's dick. Then, she mouthed it from the outside, it gave Frank a little pleasure, but not nearly enough. 

"Please, suck me off already, fuck." he grumbled, his hips bucked up towards her face. In one swift movement, his boxers were pulled down to his ankles, he took it upon himself to kick them off. Then, he heard her pop open a bottle of what he assumed to be lube, and shortly felt a cold, slicked up hand wrap around his erection, the delicate skin tingled under her touch. 

Her hand moved up and down, the skin of his dick moved under her hand with every stroke. The older male let out a moan at the contact, the sensory block of his sight made the pleasure so much better than what it would be without. Gee jacked him off slowly, gradually picking up the pace. though it was just the beginning of a blowjob, or what could turn out to be sex, Frank's breathing became rapid and his hips jerked with pleasure. "Ah- shit, fuck-" 

"Enjoying yourself, baby?" she asked, her hand working faster. 

"Yes-holy shit." 

"Mmm," she hummed. while her hand jerked Frank off, she dipped her head lower to lick at his balls, licking, sucking, and nibbling softly at the very sensitive flesh. Frank nearly choked at the added pleasure that built up throughout his body, endorphins and hormones boiled within him. A thin sheet of sweat began to coat his body as the temperature rose. 

Gee herself was aroused, her red panties became soaked as she pleasured her husband, the way he reacted and the roleplay ignited something within her. After a while of jacking Frank off, she switched gears and proceeded to give him a blowjob. Her head bobbed up and down on his cock, her tongue massaged the thick, pulsating veins on the underside of him, she swirled her tongue around his tip, lapping up the bittersweet flavor of precum. 

Frank warned her that he was about to cum, he asked her if he could, and she gave him permission, however, she didn't give him the satisfaction of release, instead she pulled off right as he came. Hot spurts of orgasmic wax shot from his cock like a volcano erupting, the spurts landed on Frank's chest, almost hitting him in the chin. His body tensed up into an almost sitting position, his hands balled into fists and his toes curled as an orgasm raced through him. Gee watched him in his glory, praising him and muttering dirty things that would surely add to his pleasure. 

He was too deep in his release that he didn't notice that Gee had pulled herself away entirely, he received absolutely no stimulation during his orgasm that would finish him off. She left him, the poor man, with a ruined orgasm and a still very rock hard cock. He whined as he relaxed back onto the bed, frustrated that he felt no relief and was still hard. 

"Gee, fuck, please fucking finish me off, don't leave me with a ruined orgasm- fuck." his voice was breathless, his cheeks were flushed and his hair was drenched in sweat, he reeked like sweat. The strong aroma filled Gee's nostrils, and it only drove her even more crazy. 

"Not yet, Frankie." she taunted and sat up, she gave him one last jerk then pulled away entirely. Frank whined in response, almost like a broken cry. She muttered a 'pathetic,' and tutted. She scooped a bit of his cum up from his chest and licked it, "You taste yummy. Would you like to taste, Frankie?"

He said nothing, but he opened his mouth in response. He tasted a foul substance, he nearly gagged at the flavor, but somehow it felt so right to him. It was humiliating to him, tasting his own cum while being under complete submission, he almost felt filthy. She kissed him, his nose and then his mouth, the flavor of his cum lingered on their tongues. Frank let out a squeak as he felt Gee's hand trail up his chest, then it wrapped around his neck, squeezing tightly. His cock twitched almost as if it was cue. 

"You're awfully beautiful, Frankie," she praised, voice low. "Such a gorgeous neck, no wonder why you like being choked." 

"F-Fuck," he sputtered, the pressure on his windpipe made it very difficult to speak. His face slowly turned a light pink at the lack of oxygen. Her grip became tighter, she felt the vibrations of a moan underneath her hand. She let go of his neck for a moment, he coughed and gasped for air, but he wanted that feeling back of not being able to breathe. 

Frank felt her move away from him, he thought that she might've gone back between his legs to finish him off, but he soon heard the click of a button and a loud buzzing, almost like a swarm of rabid honey bees appeared in their room. 

"Shit! Gee-" he cried out as he felt a harsh smack to his dick, it stung harshly, but he wept a generous amount of precum at the sensation. Then he felt another, he let out a scream and his body tensed up, he thrashed around on the bed. 

Gee stopped, then climbed over top of him, their crotches just a few inches apart. "Tell me when you're about to cum, baby." he barely got a chance to speak before the cool silicone was pressed against his cock, the strong vibrations ripped through him like shocks of electricity. He couldn't see, but Gee rested on top of the vibrator, her cunt pressed against the top of it. He heard her moan and mutter a string of curses, he could only rely on his imagination to know what she must've looked like. 

Frank imagined her naked, her face contorted in pleasure as her hips rocked against the black toy. Her breasts would move with every movement, the raven black hair hung in font of her face, covering her beautiful lust filled, hazel eyes. That image added to his pleasure, just picturing how she looked on top of him, he desperately wanted to see her, he had since the beginning, but the blocked sense made everything so much better. 

The vibrations stimulated the skin on his sensitive dick, it almost hurt at the overstimulation. Frank tried to move his hands down to even try to touch Gee, but she grabbed his hands and held them above his head, "No touching." she ordered, her voice stern. He groaned underneath her, his back arched and his muscles tensed, he moved his hips against the vibrator for more pleasure. His beautiful lips turned a cherry red from biting them in pleasure, blood seeped into his mouth, the copper tasting fluid trickled onto his tongue. 

It wasn't long before he felt his orgasm creeping up again, he warned Gee and she pulled away as soon as he came again. He continued to cum even after the stimulation had ceased, all over his lower belly, it mixed with the previous load of cum. 

"Oh-oh, fuck, Gee, please-" his voice was breathless, his hips bucked up for more pleasure to get him through his second ruined orgasm. He felt that if he was secluded to one more, he just might pass out from the pain, let alone the physical toll it took on his body. "I gotta cum, motherfuck-" 

"One more baby, can you handle one more?" she asked him. her delicate hand took hold of his cock again and pressed it against her wet cunt, the fluid slicking up his very slick cock. Frank nodded up at her, reluctantly, she wouldn't do it a third time, she knew that three would certainly be too much for him to handle. He asked her if she could lift up the blindfold, but she denied the request for the time being, it earned a noise of disapproval from him.

Then, Frank suddenly felt a warm, wet, soft sensation around his cock that was all too familiar. He heard the vibrator fall off the bed with a *clunk*, Gee adjusted herself and then proceeded to lift herself up, and slam down so her hips were flush with Frank's, she could feel the soft patch of coarse hair scratch her. 

"Gee, fuck!" he cried out and bucked his hips up into her, his eyebrows furrowed together in pleasure. Gee, she instantly stopped, he called her by her real name, but he assured that he was fine. She picked back up, her hands were on his chest, creating long, red, sore scratched along the area of skin, they went from his collarbone down to his navel, her blunt fingernails created those crimson lines. 

"Your cock is so big, Frankie, fuck." she moaned from above him, it wsas a praise rather than degradation. He groaned from underneath her and squirmed, the oversensitivity reaching an all time high. Her hands went from his navel to back to his chest, her thumbs circled around his nipples, then her thumbs and pointer fingers pinched the pink, sensitive buds on his chest. He practically screamed at the extra pain, it shot through him and straight down to his dick. 

Frank's knuckles turned white from squeezing his hands from frustration, and pleasure. The silver cuffs dug into the skin on his wrists, making it impossible for them to be moved without digging further into his skin. Though, told not to touch her, Frank hoisted his upper body up so his lips would meet hers in a salty, sweet kiss. Her hands went to the back of his head as they kissed, their tongues danced together and teeth clashed, they swallowed each-other's moans and noises of pleasure. 

Their noses bumped together as they kissed, and their sweaty foreheads were pressed together. 

One hand from Frank's head was moved down between them, they rubbed quickly at the swollen, sensitive bud that rested at the top of her cunt. She worked at herself as she fucked herself on Frank, his dick rubbed against her G-Spot with every bounce. She continued to fuck herself as they made out, Frank's noises became increasingly desperate as time went on, Gee basked in his moans, the pretty noises of pleasure just spilled out of his mouth like water from a broken faucet. 

"Gee, I'm gonna cum, please don't fucking stop." he practically begged. the fire inside of him just kept building, his toes curled and his legs twitched, everything inside of him tensed. She said nothing, she just continued to move her hips at a fast pace. Soon, Frank released a broken moan as he came for the third time. His eyes rolled back as he was finally able to feel the ecstasy he was denied before. He went limp and fell back on the bed, his orgasm felt to last forever, he hardly even noticed Gee cumming above him, she let out a long string of moans as her hand worked at her clit. 

\- end of smut, yeehaw

She pulled off of him and fell to the side. They both panted and fought to catch their breath. She soon got up, pulled her panties back on and threw a random shirt on, then went over to Frank and took the blindfold off of him. 

The light in the bedroom nearly blinded him, he flinched and closed his eyes, like a vampire seeing the harsh beams of sunlight. She grabbed his face and kissed his lips, "Hey, it's okay, it's just the lamp." 

"Yea, it's fuckin' bright. I guess being blindfolded for an hour makes your eyes more sensitive," he chuckled breathlessly, blinking to get his eyes used to the light.

"You okay, sweetheart?" she asked him as she brushed piece of his sweaty hair out of his face.

"After three orgasms? Of course. I'm just tired." he said. "Are you hungry? I scheduled dinner to arrive in like, an hour, just to be safe."

"Definitely. Let's get these cuffs off of ya, first." Gee took the pair of little silver keys from the nightstand to uncuff his hands, the metal revealed two red marks left on his wrist. Then, she handed him a dampened washcloth to wipe the semen from his chest and tummy. 

Gee helped him off the bed, his legs were almost like rubber, all of the energy seemingly depleted from his body. He put a pair of boxers on, and a t-shirt that had Mickey Mouse on the front, it was one that they bought in Paris. As he got dressed, he traced his fingers over the marks left by Gee, he hissed at the pain but he loved it, absolutely loved it. 

-

After their refueling session down in the kitchen, complete with food from Gee's absolute favorite restaurant, two cups of tea, and 50 minutes of Braxton hicks contractions setting in, Frank brought out the cake he made for Gee. It was a simple circle, two tiered cake. On the top of the cake written in blue icing, was "Happy 29th Birthday, Gee! - xoxoFrnk", complete with exactly 29 candles placed around the cake, 15 on the bottom layer and 14 on the top. He told her to make a wish, and what she wished for changed since her 28th birthday, she wished that her children were safe and healthy, a wish she never thought she would make. 

-

Every year on Geralyn Way's birthday, she thought about her life and what she had accomplished. Sometimes it went horribly, sometimes it went wonderfully. She could say that her worst birthday was her 27th, she didn't care about her 28th, but she certainly enjoyed her 29th. Gee spent it with her husband in one of her favorite places, explored an abandoned church and nearly got eaten alive by zombies, went to the place where she and Frank shared their first date at, then came home and celebrated another way with her husband. But the best part of it, was being hired to the job of her dreams. 

Gee, she also hoped that her 30th would take the cake, being that she would have all three of her children in her lap and her husband by her side, but she still had 365 days ahead of her.


	25. Jersey Just Got Colder

04/18/2010 | 5.5 weeks away from due date | 28 weeks pregnant 

-

In November of 2009, Frank Iero began the journey to his music career. Frank had gone on a month long tour across the U.S., and had been home with his expecting wife, Gee. Since he was about 13 years old, just freshly a teenager, Frank and his father played music regularly in the garage of his childhood home. It wasn't until he was 18 years old that he truly felt the deep connection to music, it was when he knew that he wanted to go down that career path in his life. He formed a band with his friends, they named it "Pencey Prep", after one studio album and a huge argument, they no longer were a band. 

After the love of his life and himself separated back in their early 20's, he picked back up on music, he wrote a handful of songs about the hurt, emptiness, and anger that he felt during that time. Those songs were hidden in a box for nearly 10 years before being rediscovered, they became what pushed Frank to produce his first official studio album, entitled Stomachaches, and go on his first tour with his band. Everything from that point on went very smoothly, he put out a line of merch that actually sold by people that supported him, including his wife, even though Frank had easy access to the merchandise, and he had begun the process of filming 3 videos to further promote the album. 

Frank was more than excited to live out his dream, he felt that if he was in the best part of his life. Married to an incredible lady, three of their children on the way, and he had a blossoming music career. Though, he currently faced an issue. Cara Shaw, his manager, had arranged for him to go on tour for another month after he finished filming all three of the videos, it would be early May that he would not only finish filming the videos, but he would have to leave for another tour to promote his new album in the United Kingdom. 

Normally, Frank would be excited about embarking on another journey and playing his songs for the world to hear, honoring his Father and Grandfather, but there was a chance that Gee would go into labor while he was in England, he was terrified of not being there to witness his children being born. He tried to reason with Cara to shorten the tour so it would end at the end of May, so he could be home in the time that the triplets were expecting to make their grand appearance in the world. 

"Frank, this is a very crucial time in your career, your band is still very new to the world, you need to be able to get "Frank Iero and The Cellabration"'s name out soon." Cara explained, her voice thick with her English accent. 

"I truly don't care if people know who I am, or if they like me- I didn't create this band to get money, or to be in everyone's mouth, I created it for my wife, my dad, and my grandfather, it's my dream. I just, I can't risk not being there for Gee, this is a very big thing for us and I have to put her before this." he sighed. "Touring in the UK is a very sweet chance for us, but I don't think I'm comfortable with doing that when Gee is about to go into labor. Is there anyway we can like, maybe, change the dates so I'll be home earlier?"

"I don't think we can, I've already contacted the venues when you approved the dates." 

"That was when I thought they would be born in July, we found out like, two weeks ago that they'd be born a whole month earlier." 

"I'm really sorry, Frank, the best I can do is give a few of the venues a heads-up that you might have to fly back to Jersey, I think throwing in the fact your wife is about to give birth, might soften the blow." it truly was the best that Cara could do, especially since she had confirmed the dates with the venues and the tickets would be going on sale in just a few days. It would be easy for her to let the venues know that Frank might have to leave the United Kingdom, but for her to cancel dates entirely was not only unprofessional, but completely out of reach for her. 

Liverpool, UK, was about six hours away from Jersey, even risking traveling that long carried the risk of Frank not making it back in time, especially being in an entirely different country and not being just a few cities away. He was still on the edge about it and Cara could sense that, she really wished that she would be able to help him further, the best thing that she could suggest was that he purchase a plane ticket from Liverpool to NJ, though it would be about seven hours maximum-including the time security , bag check, boarding, and luggage claim would take. 

Frank thought about it for a moment, and decided that if he couldn't be home a week before he was due to, a quick plane ride from New York seemed like the best option to be sure that he would be home. He knew that she could go into labor at anytime when she reached the 33rd week in her pregnancy, but he really hoped that she wouldn't until at least the 34th. It seemed to be a consequence he never thought about when he began this journey, but he told Cara that he would have to take a while off from touring after his children were born. It was not the perfect time for him to start the journey of being a musician, but that didn't cross his mind at the beginning. 

When Cara called him that morning to meet for lunch so they discuss business, Frank did not expect for it to take a turn like that. Not only was he worried about potentially missing the birth of his children, he knew he still had to tell Gee now that it was set it place. it would be one thing if she was able to come with him, but her doctor, and Florence made it very clear that she should not be traveling far between May and June, as she had a great chance of going into premature labor. 

It was different earlier on in the pregnancy, as Gee wasn't at much of a risk to go into premature labor as she was during that time. Her doctor did tell her that going would be a bad idea even at that point, they both knew that it was time they listened to her doctor so Gee wouldn't risk going into labor in a place where no one really knew how to deliver triplets, let alone take care of them medically immediately after birth. 

Frank had to sign a few forms that were apart of his contract with the company, as an agreement to the dates and the conditions of the tour. As soon as he signed his name, telling Gee was inevitable, he was worried that she would be overwhelmed while he was gone, with the triplets coming and the final preparations for their arrival, the search for her mother, and her job would just fall on her shoulders like a bolder. He was set to leave on May 15th, so he still had about three and a half weeks to spend with his wife. 

\- 

Early in the month of April, Gee hired a Private Investigator to help find her mother. It was an expensive investment to find someone that she wasn't even sure was still alive, but she had gotten confirmation of her status through letters she never intended to find. Though, the address on the letters seemed to be faded or smeared, she made copies of the letters, one set of copies for herself and a set of copies for Victor. Her plan was to sneak the boxes back into her Dad's house without him knowing, then drop off a set of the neatly organized, stapled letters that were in a file to Victor, and go to the party supply store to pick up supplies for the upcoming gender reveal party. 

She wasn't sure if Victor could still help her, because the purpose of hiring him was to just find out if Donna was alive. and it was clear that she was but Gee had no idea where she lived. The addresses on the envelopes were all faded and the ink was smeared, half of the letters didn't even have any envelopes. Instead of finding out if Donna was alive, Gee wanted to see if Victor could find her address instead. Now, Gee did not have the intent of paying her mother a visit, but she might write to her, warning her to not come near her family, or she would just not bother at all. 

Meeting her in person was something she wasn't sure about, not only would everything change direction of her life, it would almost open that door into her life that Donna could easily wiggle her way into, Gee knew that Donna would want to be apart of the children's lives. 

The gifts and strange appearances around her home, would probably continue if nothing was said to Donna. Somehow, but probably from Donald, Donna had obtained her and Frank's address and suddenly started sending gift baskets, and sticking strange, ransom type letters on their front door that had absolutely no meaning - even then, nearly three months later, Gee still had no idea what the note meant. Donna never showed up around that time, but a month earlier, right before Frank left for tour in January. 

A part of her had an aching suspicion that Donald was seeing Donna romantically, Gee wasn't sure why she thought that, but it seemed like a possibility, after all, Donald had mentioned that Donna was his only love, and had never dated anyone since she left. 

Donald left for a trip a day prior, he had gone out of town to visit a few of his high-school buddies. It was the perfect time for her sneak back into his house and put the box of letters in it's original place. The key from the decoy rock was found, then used to unlock the front door. 

The house that had a lingering smell of oak and cinnamon was dark and gloomy, sunlight poked through the blinds and created light lines on the green shag carpet floor. She went upstairs to the attic and slipped the box where it was, Gee was on the edge because spiders lurked in that dark attic, probably eyeing her down and waiting to jump on her. 

A pile of mail was on the floor in front of the door, she picked it up and placed them on his coffee table. She did not mean to pry, but she couldn't help but notice the letter that rested on the top of the stack. It was from her mother, Donna. Her address was written on the envelope, but it would feel weird for her to take the letter, copy the address or snap a photo of it. She would rather wait until Victor provided the address, that way it wouldn't be as invasive. 

However, she called Frank to get his advice on the situation. He told her that it would be a good idea to know her whereabouts before she went into the more critical stage in her pregnancy, because Victor had provided no information since they began the seemingly useless search, but he did agree that snooping through her Dad's things was not right. It was like she was at a crossroad, she didn't know what direction she should take. 

"It's like, right in front of me. Frankie. Donna is alive, there's an actual fucking letter in front of me from like, the last week. I could easily find out her address but, where would I go from there? Anything I do will just, open a can of worms. I'm like, six weeks from giving birth, but I don't know if Victor will have found her by then." she explained as she paced back and forth, chewing on her thumb nail. So many things could go wrong, if she did try to contact Donna or if she didn't, each route carried it's own risks. 

"What do you plan on doing once you find her? Meet her for lunch, call her, write her..." 

"I don't know. Should I even bother with her? I've gone 25 years without her, I suppose I can go a little longer, like, a few years longer." 

"Jiggy, I think you should look." Frank said. "You don't have to like, you know, contact her, but knowing where she is, could give you some sort of relief so you don't feel as paranoid."

"What if she's in Jersey? I'd go crazy wondering if she wonders around our city, or even the slightest chance we'd cross paths in public." she glanced over at the stack of mail. Frank still encouraged her to look at it, but only if she wanted to settle the ongoing issue with time to spare and take the middle man out of the equation.

Gee weighed the consequences of contacting her mother. Donna would try to wiggle her way into Gee's life and spoil her children with gifts, and act like she didn't disappear and choose drugs over her own children. On the contrary, if Gee did not contact Donna, Donna would continue the strange stalking and pop up on her own, she would lurk around the dark corners of New Jersey, watching Gee's every move to keep tabs on her daughter. 

She was entranced by the stack of papers, Donna could be minutes, hours, or even days away from where she stood. It was like a game of Russian Roulette, there was one worst thing that could happen, and that was Donna being so close to Belleville that it would only take a quick cruise in a car to wind up where she was, or vice versa. Gee reached over to the pile of papers and pulled out the one that was from Donna. She chewed on her bottom lip as she looked over the cursive writing.

If Gee were in a game of Russian Roulette with a loaded gun as the object, her brains would've been blown against the ceiling. The loud pop of a gun firing could be heard from many miles away, even from the coast of New Jersey, right around the state line of Jersey and New York, where a certain woman by the name of Donna resided. A three hour drive from Belleville in the right direction would bring them together. 

"Gee?" Frank's voice came from the phone's speaker. His voice broke the piercing silence in the home. 

"She's in Jersey." her tone was quiet. "Right by the coast, like, Brick." 

Brick was nearly a three hour drive from Belleville, almost into Delaware. It was far enough that Donna wouldn't run into her old family, but could easily visit whenever she wanted to. It was a lot closer than she expected, it was hard to believe that the mother she always assumed to be dead, lived just three hours west of Belleville. 

A sick feeling came over her, Gee felt as if she was on shaky ground and had to sit down before she fell. She sat on the floor with her back against the olive green wall, her phone in one hand and the letter in the other, hands both trembled. Donna was so close to where Gee grew up, where she lived nearly her entire life, it made her wonder if Donna had snuck around and stood in the background of everything. 

Frank could only imagine how she felt, his heart ached for her, he wanted to comfort her but there was only so much he could do over the phone. He thought about if that were him, if his parent disappeared when he was a young boy, only to reappear almost 30 years later after being believed to be six feet under. The new discovery made him feel guilty for having to leave for tour soon, Gee was in a very fragile state and he wanted to be there for her. He did his best to comfort her on the phone, it seemed to help as she calmed down even in the slightest. 

She and Frank soon hung up, as she said that she would be home soon and they could discuss it then. Then with trembling hands, Gee wrote down Donna's address on a sticky note that Donald kept in the kitchen, her handwriting was a little messier than her normal style. The baby blue colored paper was shoved into the pocket of her jeans, everything else was put into it's original place - including the stack of mail, before she left her father's home with the last piece she needed to complete her quest.   
-  
When Gee arrived home, Frank came running our from his office to give her a warm, comforting hug. Until she was in Frank's arms, she didn't realize how much she needed a hug from him. He kissed her head and rubbed her back in a comforting way, her body relaxed into his touch. Frank noticed a lingering smell of smoke on her, smoke from a cigarette. 

"Darling?" he asked as he pulled away from Gee, his eyes met with hers. "Did you light one?"

"No, why do you ask?"

"You reek of cigarette smoke." He said with a quirked eyebrow, suspecting that she might've slipped up. 

"Oh, my dad smokes in his house, and my car still has that stench from when I used to smoke." it was a blatant lie, Gee didn't want to lie to Frank but she didn't want to disappoint him. One little slip-up wouldn't be too bad, she thought.

"Are you okay? I know that finding out that she is just a few hours away is just...hard to deal with."

"Yeah, that was just a fucking world rocker, it's like I've been living a lie because I always was told that she died when I was four." she said, her voice was quiet. She took her jacket off and kicked off her shoes. "My dad, I don't know what to do about him. He's lied to me for nearly thirty years about my mother. Mikey still doesn't know, he's moving to California soon, he'll be a wreck if I tell him that our mother is three hours away from us." 

"God, Gee, I'm so fucking sorry that you're finding out all of this now. It's really bad timing if you asked me. The gender reveal party is only like, five days away, what are you going to do?" 

"I think I'll wait until after the party to think about this, we have a lot of planning to get done before then. Fuck, I forgot to go to the party supply store on my way home." She groaned, she covered her face with her hands as it hung. With the commotion of finding out her mother's location, she completely forgot about going to the supply store to buy the things they needed for the party. 

Frank placed a hand on her back as they walked into the kitchen, "It's okay, we can run to the store another time. The guys are bringing over some things so we can get started on Joyriding, Evan bought like, a fuckton of fake blood from the Halloween store."

"I should go clean up before they arrive." she sighed. "Why don't you join me? I'd love to hear about what happened with Cara today." 

Frank saw a little bit of an issue with that, as telling her that there was a very small possibility that he would miss the birth of their children, would upset her, and she already had to deal with knowing her mother was so close weighing heavily on her shoulders. However, he didn't want to keep it a secret for long because that would surely upset her more that he kept it from her. 

-

Up In their bedroom, Frank sat on the rim of the bathtub as Gee stood at the sink messing with her freshly cut, faded black hair. He was hesitant to tell her about the upcoming tour, but it was something that had to be done. "It went good, we ate delicious vegan Chinese food, and discussed the plan of the upcoming tour. We're set to leave on the 9th, but we don't be back until the 7th of June." 

"That's great, Frankie, I know you've missed being on tour and all. I'm really happy that you'll be able to tour again before we have our hands full." her tone was warm. "It mega sucks that like, I'll be secluded to bedrest while you're gone." 

"Well, darling, don't you remember? Your due date is June 10th, but Florence said that the babies could potentially come earlier than that. And I uh, I won't be in the U.S, Cara thought it would be a good idea if The Cellabration toured in England for more promotion."

"Wait, England?" Gee was slightly taken back, she could hardly believe that Frank said England. "I'm really happy for you, to like, go back to a different part of the U.K. but, that's literally the week I'm due to give birth. I don't want to sound selfish or anything, but I don't think I can do it without you there." 

"I tried to get a few days subtracted, but it's too late. I signed these fucking papers before we knew that you'd be giving birth in June, I'm really fucking regretting that now. Cara can't get anything rearranged, or canceled at this point." 

"Lero, baby, you know that I wouldn't like, ask you to choose between me and your dream, but I'm fucking terrified of giving birth. So much can go wrong and -"

"I know, Cara told me that she would let some of the owner's of venues know that I might have to fly home early, she'll bring up the circumstance so they don't get as pissed off. I have to do the tour, the record label will drop me if I don't, but I can't risk missing the greatest moment of my life because of it." he explained, his heart ached in his chest as he said everything out loud, saying things out loud made everything too real. 

Frank noticed that her eyes became glassy and tears welled in her eyes, he was quick to pull her into a warm hug. He knew that she was utterly petrified of giving birth, the reoccurring nightmares about the event haunted her ever since she became pregnant, they felt so real and to the point that she believed that her children would be stolen immediately after birth. Not only was she scared of that, Gee was scared that her husband would miss the birth of their children, the three children they've waited to long to meet, she wanted him there by her side. Gee didn't want him to choose between her and this new career, she thought it would either result in him losing his job, or missing the birth of their children, two events that have been worked so hard for. 

"I'll be on a plane to Jersey as soon as you tell me that you're in labor. I promise I'll fight tooth and nail to get back here, even if it means stealing a boat and sailing to Jersey." 

"Can you promise me that you'll be at the hospital before any of them are born?" 

"I promise, Jiggy, I'll be there." Frank knew deep down in his heart that he would be back in time to be there for her, but he was awfully worried that something would happen that would delay his flight, or Gee's labor would progress at an accelerated speed, but if he made It to the airport as quick as he could, the possibility of him missing the birth was very slim.

\- 

The Cellabration showed up within the hour with a truck filled with gallons of fake blood, white tarp, some of their instruments that matched the pearl-white of the tarp, and some tools to set everything up in Frank's backyard. A set with only a wooden floor and three walls had been build already, the next step in the process was to hang the white tarps on the walls to finish the set. Frank's dad dropped by, he wanted to offer his help in building the set. 

Gee wanted to help them, but her belly would just get in the way of everything. However, she took it upon herself to polish the white instruments so they sparkled and shined. A playlist of rock music played as they all worked to finish up the set for Joyriding, the first day of shooting would only be a few days away. 

"So, have you found out the genders of the babies yet?" Frank Sr. asked as he pounded the hammer. 

"Yes, we have. But, no one gets to know before the gender reveal party." Frank replied. "Gee and I are throwing one, I think that the day we're planning on is the 25th. It's kind of early but Gee's brother, Mikey, is moving to California and she wants him and Kristin to be there, so we're throwing it before they leave." 

"Not even a hint for your old man?" 

"Nope. I wish I could, but like, you gotta wait a few more days. You can bring your fiancée if you want, I'll need your address so like, we can send out the invitations." 

"Ah, Amy, she's in Utah visiting her family. She should be back by the 25th, though, I'll be sure to let her know." Amy was Frank Sr.'s bride-to-be, she was the one that Gee caught half naked back in Linda's house before Christmas. Frank found out eventually about Amy when he and Gee had gone over to his Dad's place for dinner one night, Frank Sr. and Amy had made the announcement of their engagement that night, even though they had been dating for not even a full year yet, but they figured that they didn't have much time to waste since they were nearing 60. 

Though Frank did not tell his father the sex of the babies, but he did tell him that they will be arriving in June, roughly the 10th. He was very excited for Frank and Gee, as were his bandmates that had already heard about the news a while back, around the time they first found out about the revised due date. 

While they all worked to finish the set, Gee had to take numerous breaks to use the bathroom as the three eggplant-sized babies squished her bladder like a pancake, the amount of times she had to urinate in a day became utterly ridiculous as her pregnancy progressed. It was something she couldn't wait for it to end once she gave birth, everything about her changed drastically, not just on the outside, but on the inside as well.

Braxton hicks contractions started up as they continued to finish the set. They seemed to be occurring more frequently, but weren't actual labor contractions, even though Gee had that thought in the back of her mind time and time again.

"Jiggy, hey, are you okay? What's going on?" Frank's attention was caught when he saw a glimpse of her distress out of the corner of his eye. With a plank of wood in his hand, he went over to her side. 

"Yeah, just a fuckin' contraction." Gee groaned, her eyes closed shut as her hands gripped the towel tightly, her knuckles turned white. 

Frank's dad heard, and his attention was caught instantly. he stopped what he was doing and looked over his shoulder. "I don't mean to eavesdrop, but did she just say 'Contraction'?"

"Yea-It's alright, just breathe, it'll be over soon." 

"Son, I think she's in labor. We should get her up to the hospital -" he seemed to panic a little in that moment, he assumed that Gee was in real labor.

"No, Dad, she's not in labor. " Frank explained. "It's like, a practice contraction or whatever, kind of just preparing her body for the real thing. Just as long as her water doesn't break or the contractions don't become regular, we don't have to get Gee up to the hospital."

"I see. Is she going to be alright?" 

"Yeah- I'm fine. " she panted, her hands relaxed their grip on the towel, "Three minutes."

"Keep timing them, I'll get you a glass of water." He kissed her head, placed the piece of plywood down and went into the house. Frank's dad came over to Gee to be sure that she was alright while Frank was in the house, putting together a tray of glasses of water for the crew outside. 

Frank watched her from the kitchen window as he sliced a lemon, he saw the pain in her eyes and how her body tensed up during a contraction. He knew it hurt, she wasn't one to complain about any discomfort but when they hit, they were horrible. Frank also knew that if she went into labor while he was in the U.K., she would be in agonizing pain, pain that would certainly cause her to black out or collapse to her knees. 

Gee couldn't do it without him, even though he couldn't stop the pain, he could be there for her and try to distract her through them. It would be hard to do over the phone, even thinking about the fact she would have to do some on her own caused a pain in his heart, he felt guilty for signing that paper in the first place knowing fully that she could go into labor while he was overseas. It was a sacrifice he had to make, there were things that he would miss and things he would lose if he went either way with the decision, but Frank would just have to find a way to make everything work, everything sounded well thought out on paper, but neither of them knew what would happen on the evening of June 7th.


	26. H.F.I.

"Should we like, get pink and blue shit?" Frank asked as he looked over the various colors of streamers. He held a roll of pink, and a roll of blue streamer in his hands. "I feel like it gives it away already, 'cause like, we're having two little girls and a son."

"I was thinking black, everyone wears black, kind of like, a more fun funeral, so it's not the cliché pink and blue attire that expectant mothers always set as the dress code, even though half of the guests unintentionally give away the sex." she explained. "Or, we can do red and black." 

"Like Kat's baby shower?"

"Well, yeah, but minus the skulls and hairless cats, but the hairless cats are really interesting." 

"I like that idea, but what if we just have a space thing? After all, we're revealing the genders with blue and red lightsabers, it would only make more sense if there was like, a extraterrestrial vibe to the party. Aliens, UFOs..."

"Holy shit," Gee muttered, an idea came over her. "What if, instead of light sabers, we have UFO's that drop from the ceiling and crash on the ground, and they're filled with colored confetti, or, jelly beans. An alien theme sounds fucking amazing, Frank."

"That sounds a lot cooler than our previous idea. Or, we could like, chuck them at the wall and they're filled with paint. I don't know what would - paper mache, do you know how to make paper mache UFO's?"

"No, but can like, make shit out of clay. We'd just have to run by the craft store on our way home, though, after the printers. It's very tedious to like, make things out of clay but I'm pretty good at making figurines out of it, have you seen the Jar-Jar Binks on my desk? It took me six hours just to sculpt his head." she explained as she placed navy blue, black, and purple streamers into the basket. She looked down at the basket, the dark colors were gorgeous, but she had a sudden thought. "Frank, what if instead of like, an alien theme, we do something brighter? I guess a gender reveal party should be a little less spooky, but we should totally pin idea for their first birthday. "

"What can I say, I know my wife and what makes boring things more interesting." Frank said, almost cockily in a way that patted himself on the back. "But what did you have in mind?"

"Like, sunflowers and bees. Yellow and back essentially, I always thought them to be utterly beautiful. Instead of little UFOS, I can make little bees out of clay or something and fill those with paint. Yellow, brown, black..."

The day had finally come where they had to begin to throw the gender reveal party for the triplets, it was almost last minute as the party was five days away and they still had to prepare all of the food, decorate the house for the occasion, send out invitations to family and friends, and still finish the little party favors Gee had thought of a few months prior. It originally was an idea to reveal the genders of the babies, but was scrapped because she thought that no one would want to read their announcement like a newspaper article.

Gee's idea was a small 8x10 comic book, where she and Frank's story would be drawn in the style of an actual comic book. Everything that wasn't too intimate or personal, from when they first met, to their marriage, and to the birth of the triplets would be showcased in a little book that only contained less than 100 pages. Not only did she make the comic, but she added a surprise in there for Frank, the name of their son. The name was transpired from a very important memory that involved the lead singer of her, and Frank's favorite band, Black Flag, and Frank's name, even though Frank didn't want his name to be passed down to his son.

Since the conversation started of the names of their children, they couldn't find the right name for their son, and Frank didn't want to name him after himself, as there had been 3 generations of Frank Iero's, and he really hated his name growing up, so he didn't want his son to experience that same kind of hatred towards his name as he once felt. The idea came upon her one night in her office, it had been a long night of work and she had taken a Black Flag break, and upon that break, she thought about how her son hadn't been named yet, but their daughters had been, and the name Henry just spoke to her. Gee was more than certain that Frank would love the name just as much as she did.

"Okay, we have the streamers, confetti, paper plates that match the colors, napkins, utensils, uh, these cute duck things I guess get hung from the ceiling, cups, and these sunflower stickers we can put on the walls, and bottles of paint I don't mind getting rid of. I chose yellow and blue, so it's kind of breaking that gender stereotype of "girl equals pink and boy equals blue", so for the Cherry, and Lily, the color will be blue and for H-our son, his color is yellow."

"That sounds about right, but H?" 

"I had something on my mind, uh, we should call the bakery soon to get a cake, or three with the names of each baby on them, but they're all shaped like sunflowers," She suggested, "I've just really had a sweet tooth lately, the more cake the better. Oh fuck, I forgot lights, and I have to piss."

"I'll find the lights , and you can go find a bathroom." Frank giggled at her ramble, she kissed his cheek before she walked off, her walked looked more like a waddle as the joints in her pelvis loosened. One hand was on her belly, while the other was on her hip. 

With the cart in front of him, Frank walked through the isles of the party store to find plastic planets that could be hung from the ceiling. Though he couldn't find normal fairy lights, he found white balls that had Christmas lights inside of them.

By the time Frank had found the lights, Gee came back out from the bathroom, but she had a cup of ice and a spoon with her. 

"I don't think you should eat ice if you found it in the bathroom, I don't know if you know this, but like, in some bars they put ice in the urinals to mask the stench of piss." he said and she giggled, they walked to the register that was set up in the middle of the store. 

"I took a little detour over to the coffee shop next door and got a cup of ice. Hot flashes, man, they are brutal, it felt like a sauna in there." 

"Don't hot flashes only happen when a woman goes through uh, menopause?" he whispered and covered his mouth, as if it was a secret and no one was supposed to hear. 

"No," Gee snickered, "I'm only 29, and pregnant. There's no way I could be going though that, that's for old people. Like uh, our mothers, God knows how old Donna is but I'm sure she's at least 50, or 60, but definitely at the age of her reproductive organs to completely shut down, which they should've done in 1982." 

"Aw, c'mon, that's when my best friend was born." He said as they placed the items on the conveyer belt of the register. "Maybe 1983, just 1982 is completely off limits. I never said it out loud but me, you, and Jamia were all born in the same year, you're the oldest of all of us, and I'm the youngest. So, my mom was knocked up when yours gave birth, that's kind of cool." 

"Speaking of Jamia, should we invite her? I mean, since we last saw her at dinner, she seemed like she completely changed after we stopped by her office. Jamia, she barely looked at you with those goo-goo eyes she always had for you."

"Only if It won't be weird, I mean, inviting my ex-girlfriend to a gender reveal party for our triplets. It's like inviting her to our wedding, but I think that it would be good for all of us to spend something like that together, just to kind of help her move on f - What?" Frank looked over at the cashier that looked at him in confusion, seemingly confused by the circumstances of a man's ex-girlfriend attending his pregnant wife's party. She shook her head and continued on with scanning the items, but Frank was still annoyed that she was eavesdropping on his conversation. It was a public place, someone's ears would certainly pick up a conversation when their job Is one of the most boring, the party place was close to a wasteland. 

Frank rolled his eyes and paid attention to his wife, and the conversation they held previously as he reached into the pocket of his leather jacket for his wallet. Gee shook her head and insisted she take care of it, she pulled her wallet from her army green cargo shorts and handed Frank her cup of ice. The nebby cashier rung up their total, and somehow they managed to rack up nearly seven-hundred dollars in party supplies. It was much more than they expected to pay, it seemed that they got a little carried away, but the party would for sure be a banger with all of the supplies they purchased.   
-  
After they had left the party supply store, they went to grab a coffee, and Gee had to run to the printers to pick up the copies of the comics she had sent over. Frank waited in the car for her as she gathered the prints. Cara messaged him about the upcoming tour, it made his heart sink to the pit of his stomach knowing that it would be coming up very soon, and he would miss out on the last moments of her pregnancy, and the final preparations for the birth of the babies. She wanted to send him the flight confirmation number for the 15th. 

In that moment, Frank realized that he needed to make the absolute most out of the next three weeks with his wife before he was due to leave. There were things he still wanted to get done before the triplets were born, he had a whole list in his phone of the things he still wanted to do before the babies were born, and since he would have to leave for the U.K in just a few short weeks and would result in him missing out on the last month of Gee's pregnancy, he would have to cram those things in before he left. 

With a box in her arms, Gee came out of the printers. Frank was quick to jump out of the car and help her out, since pregnant ladies weren't exactly allowed to carry heavy things as it could cause premature labor, or complications to the babies themselves. He placed the box in the trunk with all of the party supplies, as the backseat of Frank's car had three car seats strapped in. Since Gee's car was a corvette, the car seats wouldn't fit at all, as she didn't have a backseat but a very spacious trunk, so they put the three of them into Frank's car. 

Frank got to have a sneak peek at one of the comics, it was something he never knew that he needed in his life. It was like, a time-lapse of everything they had achieved or gone through in the past near decade of their relationship, all right in front of him. He flipped through the pages, but before he got to the page that had the name of his unborn son, Gee gently took the book from his hands and placed it under her thigh, so he couldn't read it anymore. 

"Hey, what gives?" 

"Well, there's a surprise for you at the end, it's the name of our son, and I don't want you to see it until the party."

"This is like Christmas when you wouldn't tell me how many babies you were pregnant with. I drove myself to the brink of insanity trying to figure out how the hell you weren't pregnant with twins anymore. C'mon, throw me a bone, please?" 

"Frankie...Don't you want it to be a surprise? After all, you named our daughters." 

"You know I'm going to cave. Remember when we went to find out the genders? You either wanted to wait until our anniversary to tell me, or I could go with you to the ultrasound and find out earlier." Frank whined a bit, "Uh, Arthur? Gerard? Like, the male version of you."

"Nope, not even remotely close." She smiled at his guesses, or attempts at guessing. "Also, Gerard? How do you figure it's the male version of my name?"

"Well, replace the 'Lyn' with 'Rard', and you've got yourself a male you. And, you told me that Gerard was your name when we first met, so, I've kind of just associated that with you since then, I didn't figure out the rest until way later." 

"A lot of people assumed that 'Gee' is short for Gerard, well, before I got pregnant and still had my overly masculine figure." 

"A sexy figure if you asked me. But we're getting off topic, what's our son's name?" he dragged out the vowel 'A' in 'name' to exaggerate his tone. 

"I'll think ab-"

"Gee, I will literally scream." 

"I'm driving, do not do that." Gee giggled. 

"Name anything, I'll do it in exchange of our son's name. Oral, I'll let you tie me to the bed again, or I will personally make an array of your favorite pregnancy foods the moment we get home. I know you've been craving bagels with peanut butter and black olives like a madman lately."

"I'll think about it, alright? I just want my dear, loving husband to be surprised, that's all." she sighed, "But, I might take you up on the lunch offer."

"Forget about it." he huffed like a child, he crossed his arms and looked out of the window on the passenger side of the car. "You know I'm kidding, I'll make us lunch when we get home, but I'm still annoyed."

"You're adorable when you're annoyed." she mocked him, she reached her hand over to cup his chin, but he furrowed his eyebrows together and huffed. Frank fought back a smile, but he wanted to be stubborn so she would cave in. 

On their way home, Gee had to stop at a gas station to use the restroom, and Frank thought about taking a peek at the comics she still had in the trunk, it was so tempting to him like a child staring at a plate of freshly baked cookies, but in a way that would be betraying her by looking at the name of their son without her allowing him to. He could wait, he had to.

-

"Darling, it's not that big of a deal." Frank said as he knocked on the bedroom door, "It's like, normal. I read about it in the baby book, it's called like, colostrum or something." 

"I know what it is, and that it's normal- but I really don't enjoy huge wet spots in front of my tits. It can't even be passed off as sweat, it's piss yellow." She groaned, her voice muffled from inside the bedroom. "Can you like, slip the scissors under the door?"

"And what do you plan on doing with those? I don't know why, but I have a feeling like you're going to snip something that shouldn't be snipped." 

"Frank, you know I really love your jokes and great sense of humor, now is really not the time to be funny." 

Frank huffed in response, defeated in some way even though he knew Gee was right, she was in the bedroom, leaking colostrum through her shirt that ruined their lunch, she was probably mad about the fact their nice lunch had been ruined more than the colostrum itself. He kicked the sheers under the door with his foot. They slid under the black painted wooden door and caught by Gee. Through the door, he heard something being unwrapped and a few snips of the scissors, followed by an 'A-Ha!" from her. 

Less than five minutes later, Gee came out dressed in a new outfit, and a new attitude. From annoyed and irritated, she was neutral, but had a sense of relief somewhere. 

"Better?" he asked as she came out of the bedroom. 

"Much." she sighed in relief. 

"So, the scissors?" he cocked an eyebrow. 

"I thought that I could take an old uh, sanitary pad and like, cut the ends off and stick them into my bra, that way it can kind of absorb anything that suddenly uh, leaks. I guess it's still serving it's purpose, but on a different part of my body." 

"I'm glad that you figured out a solution- wait, isn't colostrum like milk?" 

"Nah. It's pre-milk, I guess it's my body's way of preparing to feed three infants, but I don't understand the color, milk is supposed to be white, not lemon curd, or eggshell white at the very least."

"What's the difference?" 

"Eggshell is white, but more yellow than normal white. Sometimes it's mixed with brown, too." she explained. 

"I don't know, Gee, eggs are pretty fucking white if you asked me." frank insisted, even though it was a pointless argument about the color of eggshells and the correlation to the paint of the same name. They argued about it until they got into the kitchen, where Gee pulled an egg from the fridge and compared it to a sugar cube, their colors were similar but the egg had an obvious yellow tint to the shell. 

Frank was still skeptical as they went back and finished their lunch, comparing white things to the egg in front of them to notice a color difference. It wasn't until they were just about done that he finally saw the difference of the shades. He should've trusted Gee in the first place, after all, out of anyone she should know the color differences in anything, she didn't spend four years working her ass off for a bachelor's degree in fine arts for her to not know the difference in colors. 

-  
After lunch, they brought all of the decorations out of the car and began the process of decorating their home. Two step ladders were taken out of the garage so they could hang up the lanterns, streamers, and those ducks Gee found at the party supply store.

Gee was very careful to not lift very high, as lifting high can cause the umbilical cord to wrap around the neck of one, two, or all three of the babies. Frank took care of the things that required to lift high, while Gee focused on the stars on the walls, and contacting both catering companies and a bakery for the cake. The idea she had in mind was a three tiered cake, each tier had a bumble that sat on a flower according to the colors Gee assigned to her babies, she couldn't decide on a flavor for the cake, there were just so menu options. When she and Frank got married and had to decide on a wedding cake, it took them three days to choose a flavor, only for them to settle on chocolate, one of the most basic flavors of cake out there. 

Gee asked the baker if they made any cranberry flavored cakes, they did - but they were only cranberry orange, and that flavor combination was not very popular in their house. Almond was another option she thought about, an almond cake with a light buttercream frosting and fondant to create the bees and flowers, but almond was one of those more sophisticated flavors for weddings or big events. By the end of the phone call, she decided on the vegan almond cake with a light icing, and an array of swiss chocolate cupcakes that had black icing and fondant bumble bees and butterflies for those who didn't care for vegan cakes. 

As for the caterers, they both chose simple foods, such as pizza, pasta, various types of desserts, and many more dishes that were light on the stomach and were both vegan and non-vegan friendly. Everything was almost in order for the party, there were still a few things they had to get done before everything was all put together. 

It took them roughly three hours to set everything up in their house, everything in the downstairs had some galactic feel to it, though it was mainly the kitchen, dining room, and entry way that had the majority of the decorations. They wanted to wait to put the streamers up outside, as New Jersey often rained and they didn't want the streamers to be ruined.

They noticed that the house looked a little empty without any balloons, but if one of them would pop or sneak up on Gee, she would certainly hide somewhere that there weren't any balloons present, the fact that they could pop at any moment scared the hell out of her, not to mention that Frank would "accidentally" pop a few if they were present.

Not every party needed balloons, they're full of evil, she thought, they were a waste of plastic and carbon dioxide in her eyes. Plastic sacks filled with carbon dioxide and evil. Though, she had a suspicion someone would show up with balloons, either because they didn't know about her fear or because they wanted to jack her off, either way she had to make a note of it in the invitations.   
-

Once the main portion of decorating was compete, Gee brought out a few silver and black pens, the stack of invitations they bought earlier and envelopes that were a matte black color. On a separate sheet of paper, they made the guest list for the party.

Guests :   
Mikey, Kristin, Anthony (?), Milo (?), Kyle (?), Frank, Linda, Amy, Dad (?), Jamia, Evan, Tucker , Matt, Alex , Ed, Lindsey , Bandit, Other Matt, Cara...

Those who had question marks by their name were a maybe, Anthony and his family had disappeared off to California again, they had left when Frank was on tour for the first time earlier that year with only a note left behind on Gee's nightstand. Donald was a maybe because of what Gee had found out about her mom, and that he had kept it all from her for so long, but she knew that she couldn't keep something like this away from him, it involved his family. It would only be best if she included him, but Gee still needed to sleep on it before she decided on a choice. 

In the process, Frank was in charge of placing three alien stickers in the envelope of everyone's invitation, and he was also given the task of filling out half of the invitations and envelopes as Gee did the other half. 

"Is this tacky? Like, we could've totally just texted everyone to let them know about the party. I know Kristin sent invitations but that's Kristin, she probably sends out a Beauty and The Beast invitation for a casual dinner with her and Mikey."

"Not at all. I think sending a text to invite family to the announcement of our daughters and son is tacky, it doesn't show much excitement about the event, you know?" 

"That's true, yeah. Are the stickers too much? I thought the little aliens were so cute, they even look like our children right now. Like, they don't even go with the theme of the party anymore."

Frank giggled in response, he knew it was true; developing babies ha da tendency to look awfully alien-like while still in the uterus.

"I'm sorry for laughing, but your mother is right, you all look like aliens." He said, he took note of the fact that the triplets had ears that could pick up sounds from the outside world, and have been able to for about three weeks but, neither of them knew that until recently. They heard sounds and words over the past three months, that Gee and Frank did not want them to hear, or at least remember at any point in their lives .

"They looked like little sea horses the first time I saw them, now they're almost looking like normal babies, almost. Well, Cherry and lily are identical, I think they look like me but there's something about them that reminds me of you, it might be their noses, but I'm still unsure about our son. What do you think?"

"About?"

"Who our son looks like more."

"Jeez, I don't know. Maybe knowing his name would like, help me out the pieces together. I think you owe me, by the way, I had to wait for you to tell me how many babies were inside of you." He wasn't wrong, she did sort of owe him. Frank was very open about the names of Cherry and Lily, it would only be fair if she gave away Henry's name.

"Actually, you're right." She said, to his surprise. "The other night in my office, I took a break and thought about how our daughters were named but our son wasn't. It was kind of hard to think about it because you had a personal like, connection to Lily's name. But I remembered that you have a Black Flag tattoo, you got that tattoo the day you got the day that we got engaged tattooed to your arm, even though you hadn't proposed yet." 

"So you named our son Black Flag?"

"No," she snickered, "You told me that the dude who tattooed you, said that you were fucking stupid for doing that, but you did it anyway. If you hadn't like, gotten that tattoo, we wouldn't have gotten engaged when we did or even at all, and we wouldn't be here right now. So, I thought about the band and all, and I got our son's name from that." Gee told him as she wrote something on a cherry red post it note. 

"Black Flag?"

"Our son's name, is Henry Francis Iero," with one hand, she slid the post it note over to Frank. "I know you didn't want to name our son after you, but it's the middle name, no one really pays attaining to that, I don't even know if you know my middle name." 

"Henry Francis Iero." He muttered, looking over the paper. "I love it. Holy shit, Gee, I love the name. I didn't know what to name him, but you found the perfect fucking name."

"Really?"

"Yes, really." He smiled at her and reached over to put his hand on top of her belly. "So, in there, we have Cherry Rose, Lilian Elena, and Henry Francis."

"Uh huh, and the best part is, they all have meaning to them. Our relatives that shaped us into the assholes we are now, an incredible husband, a talented singer, and your favorite flower."

"Assholes, huh?" 

"Metaphorically speaking, but you can't deny the fact we're awful people, just plain, awful fucks."

"You know, I think that Henry looks a lot like myself- dashingly handsome."

"You're not wrong about that. It would be wickedly cool if Henry grew up to look like you, of course a more diluted version, given what we both gave him genetically."

"Jiggy, Henry is just, a perfect name for him." He sighed, he leaned over to kiss her cheek. "Can you do me a favor?"

"Anything. What's up?"

"Could you maybe, write Cherry and Lily's name down under Henry's?" 

"Uh, yeah, totally. Why, Love?" She asked. She picked up the black pen and pinched it between her thumb and little finger.

Frank had an idea about another tattoo, or three. When he and Gee first started dating, he got a tattoo on the left side of his chest, right above his heart. Lately he had thought about doing the same for his children, but on his neck, with the date of their birth under their names. Since the date of their birth was unclear, he would only do the names until the day of their birth. The idea came from the tattoo of "Geralyn" on his chest, and the heart on his hand with an arrow piercing through it. The tattoo would mean much more if written in Gee's handwriting, a piece of her would be on him for as long as he had the tattoo, presumably until eternity. 

-  
Their night ended with Thai food, The Office, and final preparations for the up and coming gender reveal party for the triplets. Once dinner was over, Gee went to her office to begin the very time consuming process of creating three bumble bees out of modeling clay, she had to make them in a way that there would be a small opening in them for her to inject paint into them. Frank kept her company, be brought his guitar and strummed some songs, he occasionally screwed up a note and cursed, out high made Gee giggle at his frustration a little, "Come on, you fucking cocksucker." he would say amongst other curses.

Frank played "What A Wonderful World" by Louis Armstrong, a song that he and his Grandpa always listened to and enjoyed, especially on snowy days in mid-December. It was a song that he associated with being happy, and in the best time of his life. After he met Gee, that song had a brand new association. 

The song played at their wedding, their first dance as a married couple, it was the song he listened to often after Gee became pregnant,it was a song that always made him happy because it reminded him of being in love with the best lady. 

The preparations for a gender reveal party for his unborn children was one of those moments where it was intimate with his wife, it was a blessing he had long hoped for and it unfolded right before his eyes, every day was one step closer to the moment he had dreamed about since he met her. The best time of his life was unfolding in front of him, but he knew that when his children were born, everything would become so much better. His life would be full of love and challenges only a parent would have to face, and that was something he was very much excited to add to his wonderful world.


	27. The One With Frank’s Bee Suit

When Gee first found out that she was pregnant, she decided that she absolutely did not want a baby shower or any sort of celebration of her pregnancy, it just didn't seem like something that she wanted to do. The idea of being surrounded of people that gushed over her pregnancy and the triplets that has yet to be born, she just didn't think that there was much to celebrate when there weren't any babies around. Gee had been to three baby showers in her life, and at each of them, she felt incredibly awkward to be in that position. 

The most recent baby shower she had gone to was for her sister in law, Kristin. Disney Princesses decorated the estate and the mother-to-be was glowing golden in her beautiful pink dress. She thought that the decor was cute, but aside from that, she would've rather been home with her husband. Yet somehow, six months later, Gee found herself dressed up like a housewife from the 1950's awaiting the guests to arrive at her home for a gender reveal party for her unborn children.

-

Since the beginning of the pregnancy, morning sickness was something that came and went, the burden was more pronounced during the first trimester, but had slowly began to creep back up towards the end of the third trimester. Nearly every morning, Gee had to wake up and spill her guts into their pipes before she could even have her morning coffee. She wasn't one to complain about the constant bouts of daily nausea and vomiting, but it began to get really bothersome. 

Every morning, but a couple of days a week were spent in pure agony. Nothing she ate would be kept in her stomach, but that was only if she could even tolerate the thought of food. Frank was a super-husband in those moments, regardless of how busy he was, he always made sure that she drank water or Gatorade, ate something small like crackers or toast, just to be sure that she didn't get dehydrated. 

Frank always reassured her that the pregnancy would be over soon, as would the constant nausea and misery. She expected that from the moment she found out that she was pregnant, but she didn't quite think that it would be so severe. It must've been all of the extra hormones from not only the estrogen, but her body working to supply three children with food and nutrients. 

On the days that led up to the Gender Reveal Party, Gee had felt absolutely miserable in the morning. Nothing was kept in her stomach, but it slowly subsided throughout the duration of the day, the evening was when she had almost felt normal again. With the nausea coming in full swing at the end of her pregnancy, she grew worried that she would feel horrible on the morning of the party. Nothing would get much done, and it would've probably had to be postponed until a later time until she felt well, so the night before her party, she laid in her bed with her maternity pillow, a bottle of sprite and things that would not induce nausea so she would feel fine in the morning. 

Frank was busy downstairs with his band to finish the preparations for Joyriding, it was almost time for them to begin shooting officially. They had done some practice recordings of the song, but without the mouthfuls of blood and the red liquid pouring from everywhere. So far, they thought it was going very well, Frank was happy with how things turned out even in the practice sessions, so far everything was turning out nearly perfectly. 

That night was a late one for him, it was well after 3AM before he was able to finally wind down and lay underneath his favorite blanket, on his favorite pillow, next to his favorite lady ever. She unfortunately couldn't sleep, the three monsters within her used her uterus as a punching bag, and that she was anxious about the upcoming event. 

Frank's hand was on her belly, and chin on her shoulder, him acting as the larger spoon as the roles couldn't be reversed anymore. 

"What's botherin' you, Jiggy?" his voice was so soft, his breath tickled against her neck. "You're tense."

"I'm just a little anxious about the party, so many people being around just to celebrate me. All eyes are all on me and this massive thing on me, but our family and friends won't stop asking about the genders if we didn't throw this, and you're really bad at keeping secrets."

"Think of it like our Engagement Party, I mean, it's kind of like the same thing, a celebration of what we've done. Instead of us getting married, we're having babies together."

"I guess you're right. I think that our engagement party was a lot more fun, like, we could drink and my Grandmother was there, your Grandfather was there, and I could wear clothes that weren't designed for pregnant ladies." 

"It's just time for us to grow up. We'll have parties like that again, once our babies are a little older and we're on the right track. I don't think they'll be like, crazy ones we used to have, we can't do a line of coke off of someone's dingy ass coffee table, drink until our livers are on the edge of giving out, and fuck without knowing if the person I'm fucking is actually my wife." 

"God, I miss drunk sex, and sex right after we smoked a blunt or two."

"Yeah, me too." he sighed, "We're going to be parents soon, our days of being irresponsible assholes are over, as for me, well, I'll always be immature, wither I'm a Dad or not." 

"You're right about that." she giggled, knowing fully well that Frank won't grow out of that, and that was something she loved about him.

Talking to him about it made her feel better about the party, it was similar to their engagement party but they weren't allowed to be irresponsible. They were almost 30 and had three babies on the way, they needed to grow up at some point and the pregnancy was the sign from someone out there, that it was their time. Frank though, he wasn't sure he was ever going to grow up, like he lived in Neverland with Peter Pan. With that topic out of the way, Gee was almost dying to know how the shoot went. 

"It was great, my Dad is an absolute God on the drums, Evan and the rest of the band had it down almost instantly. My mic blew out though, so we have to make a quick trip over to the music shop to get a new one. We already started clearing out that church for Weighted, and I thought of a pretty sick idea for She's The Prettiest Girl." 

"All of that sounds amazing, darling. Except for the mic issue, but that's an easy fix. Also, can I ask what it is? Is it going to make me cry? Because I cry at everything now, I couldn't tie my sneakers yesterday and I sobbed, I was so annoyed that I couldn't fucking bend down to tie my shoes, even though I have slip-ons." 

"Ha! That's kind of cute." he snickered and she blushed. "Well, yes, it might make you cry just a little. You know that camera I always dragged around? Like when we dated, at our wedding, and sporadically over time." 

"Uh huh."

"I thought about making a compilation of all of those moments, but I don't want those kind of things for out in the open, there are some crazy people in this world and creepy people, so it's kind of like, a thing just for us and something cool to show our kids. The real video for the public, is one of those live performance music videos, but the backdrop will be a heart with our initials in it."

"Aww, Frankie, that's so sweet. I love both ideas, but you might not want to show the first one to me until after I give birth."

"It won't be done for a while, I wanted to include like, it ending with a clip of the four of us. So it starts off with a video from the night we met, back in the days of those dreads that reeked like weed and we could barely scrape together enough for a couple of beers. It just kind of shows how far we've come, like shit, we're a little over a month away from being parents." 

"Can I tell you something?" her hand was on top of his, her thumb rubbed over his wedding ring. 

"Of course you can." 

"Matthew dragged me to that party, I like, I genuinely did not want to go. I really wanted to stay home, drink, and snort as much coke as much as I possibly could, but I caved and went. Next thing I knew I was on the side of the road and then some asshole with dreads approached me. That asshole also ended up being the love of my life."

"An asshole with dreads? Can't say I've heard that one before." 

"You were an asshole back then, but that's what I fell in love with. Some days I can't believe that we're here, I have such an amazing husband." 

"I love you, and that will never ever change." he kissed her cheek gently, the scruff on his upper lip and chin tickled her soft, porcelain skin. "It's cool feeling our babies inside if you, it kind of feels like your stomach is growling but it's less like, poppy. Does it hurt?"

"Only when they kick my ribs. My doctor said that their heads are pointing down, and their feet are like, up in my ribs below my lungs, which is why I can't breathe sometimes. All of my organs are squished together." 

"So, if I grabbed your boob and like, pressed down real hard, could I feel a baby's foot?"

"Maybe, but don't touch them, you can induce labor like that." 

"No way, really?"

"Yeah, I don't know how, but I read it in the baby book the other night. Orgasms can induce labor, too, kind of like how they relieve cramps- Frankie, what's that?" 

"What's what?"

"That." 

"Oh, that's the remote." his hand reached between them, pulled out their black remote and tossed it to the side. For a moment, Gee mistook it as something that was certainly not a remote, like something had gotten Frank excited, but it was just the hard plastic of a television remote. 

In their home, it was getting very late. The clock was just about to strike 4 in the morning, which meant that it was time for them to put a pin in whatever conversation they were having, and try to get some sleep before the big day. Neither of them moved very much, aside from the occasional trip to the bathroom, but it was one of the calmest nights they've had in a while where they both were able to sleep somewhat soundly. 

-

Alarms beeped at exactly 10:30, signaling that the caterers would be showing up within the next hour, and the guests would be arriving at noon. They rolled out of bed and began the process of getting ready for the day. Much to Gee's surprise, she did not have that horrible morning sickness that she had anticipated. 

She sat on the edge of her bed, awaiting the moment that she would need to get to the bathroom, or pull over the trashcan that was Oh on the side of her bed, but it never came. It was strange to have just one morning that she hadn't had morning sickness, but she didn't want to complain about it, nor was she going to incase that it would jinx it. 

After her morning coffee, a dose of her prenatal vitamins and other medications she had to take, she went back upstairs to shower, do her hair which essentially was just messing around with it a bit, and dress in that vintage, yellow and white polka-dotted dress, with a black bow around the waist she had found online, a yellow bandana tied in a bow as a headband, a black leather jacket, and black heels. The dress was loose fitting around the belly area, but her breasts were highlighted almost too much, but Frank did not complain about it. 

There were only two words that could describe her appearance, strikingly beautiful. 

Frank, he dressed in a black 3/4th shirt with a yellow tie around his neck, black denim shorts, and a pair of yellow Converse that he might've stolen from Gee's closet. She couldn't tie her shoes at that stage of her pregnancy, so he figured that he could made good use out of the shoes that would be gathering dust for the next month. He had something stashed in his closet that he wasn't going to bust out until a while later, once the party began and the guests were settled. 

They made sure to get a quick bite in, Gee made bagels for the two of them. She wasn't happy about the fact their kitchen filled with smoke once again because Frank never cleaned out the bottom of the toaster oven, though it annoyed her to depths she could not explain, Frank found it amusing. Any conversation they had about it, always ended with Frank giggling in the cutest, yet mischievous way. 

"Frank, this is going to end up with our house on fire. Pizza cheese and pop-tart crumbs can't linger at the bottom of the toaster oven." Gee said, she used a handheld fan to try and air out the smoke in their kitchen. 

"It's just cheese! If the house hasn't burned down yet, it won't. We've had that toaster oven for like, ages, and I have not once cleaned out the bottom."

"That's because I clean it, crumbs and mozzarella cheese that have been burnt to a crisp is a fire hazard. Why do you think that we clean out our oven?"

"I know why we clean our oven, but we don't clean out the bottom of our toaster, it's like one of those things you don't clean." he crunched on a bagel as he talked, a small amount of cream cheese was stuck in his sparse mustache that desperately tried to grow in. 

"If you heat up pizza, please clean the cheese out of the bottom of the toaster oven. Please?"

"No, fuck the toaster oven." He giggled, his middle finger stood up like an antenna at the metal box on their counter. Gee rolled her eyes at him, but couldn't help but giggle at his immaturity. The argument about the damn toaster oven always ended the same way, and Frank was serious about the toaster oven, he never cleaned it, nor did he feel the need to.

As they finished up their bagels, the caterer and his team rung their doorbell. The lead and his crew, dressed in wine-red shirts and khaki pants, laid out the platters of various food items in their kitchen, on their counters, on the kitchen table, even out to the dining room table. The tables themselves had bouquets of fresh beautiful, bright yellow sunflowers and white roses.

The three tired cake, yellow and decorated in bees and sunflowers, was the centerpiece in the kitchen for all of the guests to see. Chocolate cupcakes with fondant bees surrounded the cake, plates of yellow and brown were stacked on the table, the same plates- but slightly larger, were stacked on the kitchen counter. Streamers decorated the inside and outside of their home, various potted plants on the outside held gorgeous bloomed sunflowers. The bright decorations gave their dark home a little more life than it had, even with all of the joyous life inside and the preparations for the triplets. 

On the top of their fridge, had a basket of the comics that Gee had designed and had printed, all had a name on them according to each guests that would be in attendance at the party. They would be given out after they announced the genders, as it would clearly give it away at the end. 

Outside, on their deck, was a large canvas on an extra easel that Gee had stashed away in her office . Three, Granny Smith apple sized clay bees were on a table next to the canvas board that was black, she painted it black in order for the colors to show up better. The deck itself had streamers and those lanterns draped around the railing, it almost made up for the lack of balloons at the party. The balloons were an absolute no-no, to the point in which she even made a note to not bring balloons on the invitations. Gifts were fine, but balloons were basically prohibited in the home. 

\- 

Out of the guests, Evan, and the other members of the band were first to show up. Kristin, Mikey, Donald, Linda, Frank Sr., and Amy were after them. Lindsey, Anthony, and their families hadn't shown up yet, Lindsey was definitely coming but they weren't sure about Anthony. Frank had obtained his address and sent out a pair of invitations to him and Milo, but they hadn't received an RSVP from them, so there was a chance that they wouldn't show up. They did want them to be there, it saddened them to know that he might not show up, but Anthony and his family had things that needed taken care of. 

Jamia was the last to show, she was - as she said, running a little behind as she had to finish up a quick class over at her studio before she was able to make it to the party. A bit of fear in the couple that Jamia would have another outburst during the baby shower, but they could only hope that she wouldn't embarrass herself like that again. 

Though, the company of the other guests surely made up for those who weren't there. Even with Jamia, they had all hung out together a few times since February and everything had been going well, she seemed to be gradually getting over her feelings for Frank. It was obvious, she didn't seem as friendly towards him. Jamia's attitude towards Gee became softer, she even brought a gift for her and the babies. 

"I brought you a little something. I wasn't sure what you already had, but uh, every Mom-To-Be can use a couple of them." Jamia, dressed in a black dress with white flowers scattered around, her hair pulled up into a high ponytail and her bangs were neatly settled on her forehead, handed Gee a gift that had been wrapped in golden paper. "You've gotten so big, how many months are you now?"

"Oh, thank you, you can just put it in the living room with the others." Gee said, gesturing over to the living room. I'm just about six months, but I'm due on June 10th, triplets apparently don't stay in the womb as long as like, twins or something." 

"Yeah, they'll just run out of room in there. Did Florence tell you that?" Jamia asked. 

"Yes, she's so like, educated on triplet pregnancies. Frank and I were worried about that, a lot of midwives and shit don't know much about them."

"Well, that's why I recommended her. After you and him announced it, I instantly thought of Florence."

"We really appreciate that, uh, I know that things between us always haven't been on the best terms but we're adults and it's good that we're like, you know, moving past that." Her cheeks were a little red, and what she said seemed to have touched Jamia in a way. For Jamia, it was still kind of hard for her to move on from the love she lost, but inside, she really tried to get over that. 

After Jamia put the golden box into the living room, amongst the rest of the gifts that other guests have brought, she joined everyone that had arrived to the party in the kitchen. They all had some sort of drink in their hands, soda, water, alcohol, they all seemed like they were having a great time. Jamia saw Gee talking with Frank, he had a Blue Ribbon beer in his hand and she had a cold glass of cranberry juice, Jamia blushed as she saw Frank, still something in her found that man attractive. 

Frank's attention was drawn to Jamia as she walked into the kitchen, he held a finger up at gee to pause their conversation so he could go over and greet the lady in the black dress. The man pulled her into a gentle, friendly hug, her pale hands were on his back and her chin on his shoulder. 

"Glad you made it, Jai." he smiled at her as they pulled away. "Can I get you a beer?"

"Thanks for the offer, but I can't drink, I'm driving myself home and I can't risk a DUI."

"C'mon, that's never stopped ya before." A Blue Ribbon beer was taken from a cooler, and handed over to Jamia, dripping with water and small chunks of ice. Frank was right, they always did that back in college, the laws regarding drinking and driving had gotten a little tighter, but as long as she doesn't run anyone over, Jamia was fine with drinking just one beer. 

-

The attention was all on Gee, to that it made her very uncomfortable. She tried to stay out of the eyesight of everyone by sticking close to Mikey, Frank, and Lindsey. Lindsey and Gee had a lot to catch up on, as Lindsey had been a little absent since the last time they had seen each other back at the New Years Eve Party, busy with Bandit, her career, and her husband. The extreme change in Gee's body throughout the pregnancy really surprised Lindsey, but it was also a "Told You So" moment for her, as Gee insisted that she wouldn't get much larger than she did during her pregnancy with Bandit, now Gee is at least twice the size that Lindsey was. 

Lady B was the only child at the party, which seemingly made it hard for her to find something to do while the adults did their thing, but she found much amusement in playing with Sweetpea, Mama, and Mitch. Mitch was like her best friend, Lindsey had a few cats at her house but Bandit insisted that something was special about Mitch, that they had a deep connection, like Ellie and Church from Pet Semetary. 

"I just can't believe how big you've gotten. Your bump was not really there the last time I saw you, and now it's like, wow." Lindsey noted, a plate of various cookies on her lap, her matte red lipstick decorated in the remnants of a oatmeal raisin cookie. 

"I swear you're the ten-millionth person to say that today. It's just a belly full of babies." She giggled, her finger traced around the rim of her half-empty glass. 

"Are they kicking yet?"

"Oh god, yes. I can't breathe because they've squished my lungs like a collapsed accordion, they keep me awake at night, and send me on numerous trips to the bathroom when I do manage to sleep."

"Pregnancy is a gorgeous thing, isn't it?" 

"Fuckin' beautiful. So beautiful, that I feel like puking my guts out every morning." she rolled her eyes and nudged Lindsey. 

"How is Frank's band going? I noticed the set outside, and the shit ton of buckets of blood outside."

"It's going well, uh, he's leaving for tour in a few weeks. Ah, yeah, he's in the process of filming the video for Joyriding, then he's going to film Weighted in this sick church we found." Gee explained. 

"Tour? Aren't you about to pop soon? But the music video ideas sound wicked cool, an abandoned church and gallons of blood."

"June 10th is my due date, but Frank will be home on the 9th. In the event that like, I do go into labor early, he'll be sure to catch the first flight back home. I can't go with him either, so that blows."

"Why don't you come stay with me? Matt loves having you around our place." Lindsey suggested. 

"Oh Linds, thank you for the offer, but my doctor wants me on strict bed rest starting the 1st, so I don't end up going into premature labor or whatever, otherwise I totally would've gone with him." 

"That's a bummer. But, what if, I come and stay with you? I can keep an eye on you while Frank's out of town, and Bandit can join us."

"I don't know, I just..B has school and you still have a career, Florence will be around regularly to make sure I'm alright, and the babies are as well."

"Shit, that's true. I guess I'll have to work from your place for a while, artistry can be preformed literally anywhere, and you have a killer art studio in your house." Lindsey was so persistent about the matter, there was no way of changing her mind once it was set on something. It meant a lot Gee that Lindsey cared that much to be with her, but Gee insisted that she would be just fine on her own. Though Gee refused Lindsey's offer, Lindsey told her that she would stay at the house even if Gee didn't want her to, so Gee had to throw her hands up in defeat and accepted her offer. It brought her a sense of comfort knowing that someone would be there with her, but it was a little upsetting that it wasn't Frank, nor would it be for a month. 

\- 

Lunch was served shortly after the family and friends arrived, everyone around the house had a place filled with food. Frank was at the dining room table with his parents, and Frank's girlfriend, Amy, and his plate of baked ziti, garlic breadsticks, pizza, and a beer. Gee sat at the kitchen table alongside Mikey, Kristin, Lindsey, and Bandit. Kristin somehow was still glowing and looked gorgeous in her 9th month of pregnancy, her feet weren't swollen, she didn't seem to have gained much weight nor did she eat very much, it just must've been in her DNA to remain utterly gorgeous regardless of what was happening to her body. 

"So, what day are you two planning on leaving Jersey?" Gee asked, her voice was slightly hard to hear over the music and guests talking around the house. 

"We leave on Monday, but when you give birth, I will be on the first flight to Jersey. Kristin and Rowan will stay at our home because we think traveling that far with Row will be too risky." Mikey replied, "I honestly never expected my wife, and my big sister to be pregnant at the same time." 

"I swear it was a coincidence. Rowan will be born before my kids, anyways." she giggled. "Aw man, does that mean I'll miss Rowan's birth? Shit, she's my only niece." 

"Sadly, yes, but we'll send you plenty of photos of her." 

Missing Rowan's birth upset Gee, as Rowan is her only niece, and she wasn't able to witness Kyle's birth because he was adopted, but they weren't able to be in the same place at the same time, plus knowing Kristin, she will have at least six children. Gee was still excited to see photos of little Rowan once she was born, none the less. 

-

As lunch went on, Frank received a text message from Gee. It asked him to come to the bathroom that was across from their living room, the door had a sunflower that hung from a thumbtack. At first, he was a little curious as to why she would need him to come to the bathroom, maybe there wasn't an extra roll of toilet paper stashed under the sink. HIs knuckles knocked on the door, "Darling?"

The door opened, then her hand reached out, grabbed him by his yellow tie and pulled him into the bathroom. Frank was pushed against the bathroom door, one of Gee's hands went to the doorknob and clicked the lock, then her hands came together on his belt and began unfastening it. They kissed all while she worked on his belt, her quick workings hands had trouble with the belt. 

(Smut so here's a warning??)

"Gee-baby, what're you doing?" he asked between kisses, he could feel his shorts tightening. 

"I'm going to blow you, is that alright?" Gee pulled away from him, with one swift movement, she pulled the black leather belt from his waist. 

"Shit, yeah. We gotta be quick, though, I was in the middle of a conversation with my Dad and Amy." he nodded, his eyes were fixed onto Gee as she sunk down to her knees, her yellow dress flattened on the floor around her. Her delicate hands unzipped his shorts, the baby blue of his boxers was exposed through the small opening. 

Frank sucked in a sharp breath as his boxers and shorts were tugged down, the half erect object spring free, curving slightly to the right as it grew in size and stature. The warmth of Gee's hand wrapped around his dick, she squeezed slightly then began to slowly jack him off, he twitched and hardened under her touch. His own hand went over his mouth, acting as a muffle to prevent any sort of moan, groan, or any noise of pleasure so spill out of his mouth for anyone to hear,

A wet, warm stripe was licked up the underside of his erection, over the most noticeable vein and the curves of the head. She kissed the tip, then took it into her warm mouth. Frank's hips jerked at the contact, a moan was muffled by his hand into barely anything. The free hand was on the door handle. 

They had to be careful for not make any sounds, but noises were unavoidable in that situation, blowjobs are loud. Wet noises, gagging, slurping, all of the unattractive noises would soon come about, so Gee turned the sink on to mask the sounds. 

Gee sunk down in one swift movement, Frank lifted up the hem of his shirt to see her with his cock enveloped in her throat, her nose was pressed against the patch of dark brown hair, and eyes were looking up into his. She gagged and choked around him, but she still kept herself for as long as she could without the risk of vomiting. Frank's eyes were shut in pleasure, he bit his hand to prevent any poises from coming out of his mouth as the fire ignited within him. 

"Holy shit," the words were barely audible behind his hand. A thin sheen of sweat formed on his shin, his forehead was slightly shiny from the fluid. She pulled off with a pop, a string of saliva connected her shiny lips to the tip of his cock, she looked dirty. 

Gee's hand went back to his cock, jacking him off quickly as he mouth latched onto his balls, licking and sucking. Her teeth pulled at the sensitive skin, the pain made Frank hiss but it also added to the pleasure. Her hand and her mouth switched so her hand massaged his balls, and her head bobbed up and down on his cock, her head twisted and turned with each bob. 

Frank's head was clouded with pleasure, the sight below him was better than any blowjob he's seen in any adult films. He could feel the orgasm inside of him creep up, he couldn't wait much longer for it as his family and Gee's would soon notice they were gone, so he thrusted his hips forward as a non-verbal gesture for her to go quicker. Gee was very quick to get the message, so her hand went under her mouth so she could jack him off at the same speed as her mouth worked. Spit dripped from her chin and onto the floor between them, the salty flavor of precum seeped onto her tongue. Frank fought back loud moans that bubbled in his throat, they threatened to spill from his mouth but he couldn't let them. 

The tightness in his balls grew to the point where it was almost unbearable, within minutes of the stimulation to his dick, he moved the hand that was over his mouth and mouthed a warning to Gee, she knew what he said and sped up her motions, desperate to make her husband finish. with a few last bobs and jerks of his cock, Frank leaned his head back against the door with his eyes squeezed shut, his mouth was open in a pornographic "O" shape, every muscle in his body tensed up as hot, opaque white streaks shot from the head of his dick and into the back of Gee's throat, spurt after spurt dripped onto her tongue and down the back of her throat. 

"Fuck!" He cried out, audible above the water running. His hips shuttered as he finished off his orgasm, his hands shook and clenched together, knees nearly gave out as the waves of pleasure went over him. Gee rested her mouth just over the tip, sucking and licking over him. Her beautiful, sparkling eyes watched him as he came, her own arousal peaked in her as she watched him. 

As his orgasm ended and he was only left with the feeling of satisfaction, overstimulation slowly crept up on him. Frank hissed and pulled his hips away from her, Gee knew to pull away, a mouthful of his seed still rested on her tongue. She swallowed it as she stood up, then she kissed him, he could taste the bitter flavor on her lips, he grimaced at the taste but he should've been used to it, out of all of the times that he had accidentally tasted it. 

/end of smut/

"And that was for?" he asked her, voice was a little breathless. 

"I don't know, I just got the idea as I ate." Gee shrugged, she used one hand to turn the sink off. "Are you, Frank Iero, questioning a blowjob?"

"You'll never catch me questioning any sort of sex act, it was just, spontaneous." he replied as he pulled his pants back up, hands worked to fasten his belt again. "Damn good, though." 

"Good. While you uh, you know, get situated, I'm going to go back out to the party. If anyone asks where we were, tell em' uh, I needed your help with getting Mitch down from a shelf before he knocked over my Grandmother's urn." Gee said as she dried her hands on a towel, the saliva was wiped off of her chin and chest.

"For fifteen minutes?"

"Hopefully they weren't keeping track of time, let's just pray they didn't." Gee kissed Frank's cheek, then snuck out of the bathroom and back to the party like nothing happened. Though, she wasn't sure how she was going to explain away why her knees were red, nor why her lips had an obvious "just sucked a dick" appearance to them, all she could do was hope that no one noticed. 

-

The members in attendance didn't catch on to their act, they all believed their story of Mitch trying to knock over Elena's ashes, so no one suspected that they were just in the bathroom doing something completely inappropriate to do while at least fifty family members were at the house. It was awkward because they each had to conceal the lie and try not to feel as if all eyes were on them, it raised way less suspicion if they just remained cool as a cucumber. 

After everyone ate and began to linger around the house, Frank and Gee decided that it was time for them to crack open those clay bees and reveal the genders of the babies. Frank changed into this ridiculous bee suit he had, it was like a jacket but it had a hat on it that had antennas, gave his Dad a camera to record it, as he wanted to keep that moment forever and add it to the video he was making for Gee. Everyone gathered on the deck, all anticipating the reveal of the triplets. Frank had one bee in his hand, Gee had another, and the third was still on the little table. 

"So, the other night, I spent a long time sculpting bees out of clay because I'm terrified of balloons, so each of these bees have color in them. We chose blue if there's a girl, and yellow if there's a boy. Frank and I will smash them against this canvas, then uh, you'll know what we're having." She explained, the babies kicked inside of her. She and Frank looked at each other and smiled, excited for that moment. 

Gee threw hers first against the canvas, the yellow and black striped bee smashed and left a large splatter of blue paint against the black canvas, it showed everyone there that the first baby out of three, was a little girl. 

"One's a girl!" She exclaimed, and those in the crowed roared and clapped. Frank then took his bee, and chucked it at the canvas next to where Gee threw hers, it was also blue. They were all excited that there was another girl, at that point, they all assumed that since they already had two girls, that the third would be a girl as well. 

Everyone had a smile on their face, including Jamia herself, she looked genuinely happy for them, which was a little surprising to both of the Ieros. They had one bee left, they had decided earlier on that they would they would throw it together, it would be in Frank's hand and Gee would hold his, the bee hit harder against the canvas, bright lemon yellow paint splattered over the blue paint. 

"It's a boy!" Frank, and Gee said in unison, and everyone cheered louder than they did before. Faces of excitement were shown amongst the crowd. Frank and Gee kissed, his hands were on her cheeks as their lips locked, photos were taken and the video kept rolling, all would be little reminders of that special day. Their happy faces, the reveal of the colors, everything would be at their fingertips in the future. 

In that moment that they announced the genders of their unborn children, it felt real. In the beginning of Gee's pregnancy, they were filled with so much doubt and worry about if she would make it to full term, and with only a month left into the pregnancy before they were able to meet their children, nothing could destroy what they've worked so hard for once more. It was a blessing that they had long hoped for, from the beginning of their relationship, they knew that they wanted to have children and they were just so close to that moment when they came face-to-face with genetic mutations of their DNA, in three packages that would be named Cherry, Lily, and Henry. And God, neither of them could wait to meet them.

-  
After the the guests left and all of the food was either given out as leftovers, or stored in their fridge, they both went up to their bathroom and ran a warm, camomile scented bubble bath with candles surrounding them, Frank had a glass of his favorite red wine and Gee had a wine glass of cranberry juice, and two pieces of the cake that they still had plenty of. They both figured that it would be a nice, relaxing way to end the day that had been filled with so much excitement.

Frank was still reeling in the excitement of announcing the genders to all of his friends and family, he just couldn't believe that he was able to do that with his wife, especially after what had happened those years prior. Neither of them could still believe that all of that was happening to them, it was a moment that they would surely cherish until their last breath. Their children would be arriving very soon, yet they felt as if time went by far too fast. It was a part of their lives that they've waited for so long, and it was slowly unfolding right before their eyes. 

For the first time in a while, they could sleep soundly. Gee didn't think about her mother, the stress of becoming a mother very soon, or Frank being gone while her labor could happen at any moment, and Frank, well, he didn't have much to worry about other than missing the birth, but they were pretty certain that he would be there in time.


	28. .joyriding.

"Breathe, Mrs. Iero. It'll only pinch a little bit." Dr. Cahill warned her, the syringe and needle in his hand.

"Don't warn me! It'll just make me more anxious, just like, go for it." Gee's voice was shaky, awfully irritated and on the edge. Her eyes were closed tightly, her hand gripped onto the edge of the table tightly, her knuckles turned white. 

It came that time of the month where she was due for another estrogen shot, it was her second to last, quite possibly her last if she would go into labor before May 25th, but the chances of that were very slim to none. The shot was her seventh, and every time it sucked just as much as the last. Regardless of how much mental preparation before the shot, Gee still was a nervous wreck and had to force herself into the car, to the clinic, and into the exam room because she knew exactly what waited for her, the long silver needle waiting to pierce through her pale skin. 

Frank wasn't with her, which had made her at least ten times more anxious. Frank stayed back at the house to set up for the first day of the video shoot for Joyriding, they weren't going to shoot that day, at least as far as they knew because there were still a few loose ends they had to tie up before the official first day of shooting. The band and Frank's dad was back at the house, Frank's dad had to fill in for Tucker as he had to visit his mother in the hospital. Frank thought Tucker was very talented, but he loved having his dad apart of the band, even for just one day, It was like that was what they were meant to do, but his dad wasn't exactly a young man anymore, he couldn't endure the strenuous aspects of touring and preforming nearly every night, not to mention the copious amounts of alcohol, energy drinks, coffee, and pure junk that they ate on tour. 

Tour was an awful, yet exhilarating experience that was full of energy, excitement, and adrenaline that couldn't be found elsewhere. Frank loved it, as did Gee, even though she wasn't apart of the band, but the energy just radiated off of everyone, almost like a secondhand buzz from a pothead ripping on a bong. That being said, at the appointment with Gee's doctor, she had thought about asking him about the possibility of joining Frank on tour, even though it was pretty clear that she was not able to join him, Gee wouldn't feel like she had done all that she could until she asked the only person that could give her permission, next to Florence. 

"See, that wasn't so bad. It was just a little pinch, like a bee sting. I'm sure you would've gotten used to it by now, you might have to by the time you go into labor, the epidural needle is a little bigger than the standard needle used for shots or IV's." 

"I think I'll be passing on an epidural." 

"Why is that? Childbirth is very painful, especially with multiples."

"I'm uh, I'm an ex-addict and any sort of pain medication will derail all the progress I've made in the past five years, regardless of what kind of strong medication. My husband hides the cough syrup and novril, and those are kind of like, medicine for children." 

"I see, it's not really pain medication, it more so numbs from your pelvis to your hips, like Novocain that a Dentist would give. It's entirely up to you though, we do recommend the epidural, though." he explained. He took the bottle of blue gel into his hand and the probe in the other. "Where is your husband, by the way? He's usually here with you."

"He's with his band, uh, he's getting ready to go on tour again. Speaking of tour, he's due to leave on May 15th and won't be back until round like, June 5th. What're the chances that going with him would be safe? I know that it's dangerously close to around my due date, but I'm sure we can make it back to Jersey in time if I do end up going into labor."

"Well, is he touring in the U.S? I might be able to make an exception if you're in uh, let's say Philadelphia or New York around that time, they're both within two hours away and I'm sure you won't go from zero to ten centimeters in two hours."

"I wish I could say that. Frank's manager set up a tour in the U.K, I think that he will be in Liverpool. But, we discussed it and the fight from Liverpool to Newark is like, four hours. That's only a few hours more than New York." Inside of her chest, her heart thumped against her ribcage so hard, she thought that her heart would probably break one of her ribs. 

In the case that Gee's doctor did let her go with him, they would go from the airport straight to the hospital. No stops to their home, to the coffee shop, wherever. She brought that up as well, hoping that it would convince her doctor to allow her to go, maybe knowing that Gee had actually put some real thought into the matter, he would let her go. 

The doctor was silent for a moment, either because he was focusing on and measuring the triplets, or he was considering the factors to make a choice in the matter of Gee's want to be with Frank while on tour, his silence had made Gee's lingering anxiety shoot to the roof. 

"The growth of the babies is according to the schedule, they're developing quicker than a normal baby only because of the estrogen, and that pregnancies with multiples tend to be a little quicker developmental wise." he started, "Based on the rate that they're developing, I would say your due date is June 10th, but they can always come later or earlier than that. I've stated previously that I'm not comfortable with the idea of you being so far away, even three months ago when you were still in the earlier stages of pregnancy. I'm very sorry but you will have to be on very strict bed rest once May hits, we can't risk you going into premature labor."

"So I can't go with him? Like, not for even a few days, or a week? I'll be back before June, I promise." Her heart sank to the pit of her stomach, even though she almost prepared herself for the worst, it still stung. There had to be a way to postpone labor if she had unluckily went into labor while in the United Kingdom, for four hours she could try and delay her cervix from dilating or her babies shooting down like her body was a waterslide.

"Absolutely no traveling next month. Don't make me admit you into the hospital just so I can be sure you aren't in Europe when you should be in bed."

"What if I can like, delay my labor? Kind of like Pam on The Office, she managed to delay her labor for like, eight hours? Or however long she managed to do it."

"Mrs Iero." Emmett cocked an eyebrow, his tone more stern than it typically was. In that moment, Gee knew that there was absolutely no way she would be able to see Frank for nearly a whole month. It would be one thing if she had things to distract herself, like a comic convention or work, but she would have to be secluded to bed rest. She wouldn't even be allowed to drive two miles to the gas station to pick up a pack of jelly beans or a nice cold coffee. 

The only way she could have contact with her husband, was over the phone or the internet, but even then he would be incredibly busy with tour. She had gone with them once before, it was wild, and she wasn't the one preforming, being a bystander was even exhausting. Gee wished that she would've already had the babies, or wouldn't have to for a much longer time so there wasn't this block in the road of everything. And she still had to break the news to Frank that she wouldn't be able to go, because when she mentioned that she hadn't asked her obstetrician yet, a little hope was restored.

Now, if she was in the earlier stages of pregnancy, it wouldn't have been that much of a deal because there wasn't as much of a risk of her going into labor, and Frank will be gone in that time period that she is expected to pop. The only thing that they could do was hope that Frank would be back in time to witness the birth. It was a waiting game, and Gee would do everything she could to postpone her labor just for Frank to be there, and by any means necessary. 

Before Gee left, Dr. Cahill wanted to schedule her C-section for the triplets. He firmly believed that it was time that she would need to have it set in stone, as the chances of her water breaking on it's own, and natural labor progressing smoothly was slim to none. It was safer for herself, and the babies inside of her. A C-section terrified Gee, knowing that she would be cut into so doctors could retrieve her babies, then she would have to worry about the scar opening and her guts spilling onto the floor.

Since it was something she absolutely had to do, Gee agreed that June 11th would be the best day for her C-section, it was a day that Frank would certainly be back home from tour, and they could enjoy one last day as the selfish, child-less, married couple they lived as for over four years.   
-  
"Hey sweetheart, how's the prep going?" Gee asked, her phone on her lap as she drove.

"It's going well, my Dad almost tripped over one of the buckets of blood, and Sweetpea tried to drink it, but luckily we caught her. I think we might start shooting today, my Dad will fill in for Tucker while he's gone."

"That's great, I'm really glad to hear that. Oh shit, if either of the dogs touch the blood at all, please wipe their paws off so there aren't bloody paw prints around our house, our carpet is still somewhat new."

"Too late, it looks like Sweetpea and Mama just fuckin' killed someone and disposed of the evidence in our backyard." 

"What?" She was slightly alarmed, bloody paw prints around the house would be a major pain in the ass to clean up.

"I'm kidding. They're in the house, they haven't been near the blood, I'm about to take them out for a walk anyway. Unless you want me to wait, so you can tell me how your doctors appointment went? "

"Yes, we can take them after Florence leaves. I'll meet you at our house, do you want me to pick you up anything? I'm almost by the grocery store."

Frank wanted her to pick up more IBC root beer from the grocery store, and a case of beer, the band and himself had been drinking the carbonated beverage like it was going out of style. Frank told her that once she got home and Florence left, they would get started on dinner so she wouldn't have to pick anything up from the store or at any takeout place, even though they both equally wanted Thai food and onion rings for dinner, it was very important that they both ate healthier, especially the one that had three humans growing in her organ.

The phone was hung up, and tossed over to the passenger side of the car. Gee's band reached over to the glove compartment of her car, pulled out a pack of Marlboro Reds and a silver zippo lighter. The brown and white stick was placed between her lips, and then lit with the orange and blue flame of the lighter. She knew it wasn't good for her, and that Frank would very upset if he found out that she had been smoking secretly, as he had put so much effort into not smoking and she had been having that satisfaction of smoking. Gee was an addict, everything was dangerous for her, but if she couldn't have alcohol or narcotics, she needed to have cigarettes, regardless if it had an impact on her pregnancy or not.

Gee promised Frank that she wouldn't touch any of that stuff anymore, when they had that small scare regarding the Braxton Hicks contractions, it was almost like she was cheating on him with nicotine and it made her feel immense guilt for it. No matter how hard she tried to quit smoking, she could never do it, even though she really tried every time to quit, it just never worked out, she always ended up giving into her cravings. Until the triplets are born, Gee thought, she wouldn't let Frank know that she still smoked. It was something she was good at hiding, even though she didn't like to admit it. 

Of course she thought about her pregnancy nearly every time Gee lit a cigarette, she did need to be cautious and limit herself as things can still go wrong with her children, low birth weight and other risks were still very much real and could occur. She had to be careful.   
-  
Two cases of IBC root beer was picked up at their local grocery store, another two bottles of organic cranberry juice, and a bag of cranberries to satisfy her craving. Before she rerouted In order to get back to her home, she had to make a quick stop to the liquor store. Though Frank insisted that he would send someone out for a few cases, Gee told him that she would since she was still out, it just wouldn't make sense to send someone else out. 

The liquor store was dangerous territory for her, Gee was an adult woman and no one could tell her to not purchase a drink for herself, regardless if she was an ex addict or not. The temptation was almost irresistible when she stepped foot into a store like that, she needed to fight that off and focus on her mission, to grab two cases of Blue Ribbon beer. 

Glass bottles upon glass bottles were lined up along the shelves, Gee tried to look away and keep her head down to avoid looking at the bottles, but out of the corner of her eye, she saw a bottle of her favorite liquor. A tall glass bottle of Johnnie Walker scotch, she never knew how much she wanted just a taste of liquor until she came face-to-face with a bottle of her favorite booze, it had been months since she had a taste of alcohol, other than kissing Frank after he had a drink or two, but it wasn't something she could savor. 

She was so tempted to pick up a bottle and hide it in her car where Frank couldn't see, it was something that she just wanted to keep for herself even though it would give her a greater chance of relapsing. But, Gee didn't believe that there would be much issue in just having a bottle around, Frank liked scotch, so it would just be a little treat for him for all of the hard work he had been doing for the band, kind of a little hurrah before he left for tour, a gift from her to him. 

A bottle of Johnnie Walker scotch was pulled from the shelf and tucked under her arm. The lady ended up leaving the liquor store with the bottle of scotch, and two 12-Packs of Blue Ribbon beer. That scotch was for Frank, she had her secret cigarettes and that would be enough to ease even just a bit of stress. Gee, she was committed to sobriety for her children, cigarettes didn't bring her into depression or nearly destroyed her liver, just as long as she had cigarettes, she thought that she should be just fine. 

\- 

Just before 3 in the afternoon, Gee arrived back at her house with the liquor, and groceries from the supermarket. Her cherry red corvette parked in the driveway, her boots were by the door and the backs of groceries were on the kitchen counter, waiting to be put away. She grabbed herself a glass of cranberry juice and popped outside to check on Frank and how the shoot had been going. 

Frank was dressed in an all white outfit, but with a black tie and belt. The rest of the band were dressed in identical outfits, all of their ties were done by Frank as it seemed no one else knew how to tie a tie. Lights hung from the top of the set, Jamia was there as she was a wizard with a camera to shoot the video, she had gone to college twice, 2-years for photography, and the rest of her education was dedicated to midwifery. 

Gee managed to catch them right before the shot was supposed to begin, and Frank was very delighted to see his wife be there for the first video shoot. He was talking to Jamia about the shoot and what idea he had in mind, comes to angles and shots he wanted to be included. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Gee walk out of the home through the sliding glass door, he excused himself from the conversation and went to greet her with a kiss. 

"Hey, Jiggy," he smiled, arms wrapped around her in a warm hug. "How did your doctors appointment go? Did you get an ultrasound photo?"

"It went good, other than the fact he fuckin' stuck me in the arm with a needle. Doc said that they're all growing according tot the schedule. Cherry and Lillian were kicking up a storm, Henry seemed to be asleep during the ultrasound. But, there are a couple of things we should probably talk about before " She explained, an ultrasound photo was pulled from her purse and handed to Frank. "Florence called as I pulled into the driveway, she'll be here on Thursday at like, three."

"We should be done with shooting by then, I have a feeling that we'll only have to do this one time, practice has gone very well so like, I'm confident that we'll nail this." His eyes scanned over the ultrasound, his babies had gotten so big since the very first time he saw them, they were just little black orbs in the beginning. The best part about Florence coming, was that she had a special type of ultrasound machine that showed them in 3D, like all of their features, so he was stoked to see them once Florence came. 

"Are they kicking now?"

"Yes, not sure which one though." she said, then grabbed Frank's hand and placed it right in the spot in which the baby kicked. His face lit up like a Christmas tree, he had felt them many times before yet every time it was like the first. "Jamia?"

"Yes?" Jamia's attention was caught, she was distracted by using her thumbnail to scratch away a sticker stuck to her camera. Her hair was tied up in a neat ponytail, her bangs looked neat as always. 

"Would you like to uh, feel?" 

"I beg your pardon?"

"One of my babies is kicking, I was wondering if you wanted to feel them."

"Oh, yeah, sure." She nodded, she let go of the camera but the strap around her neck prevented it from falling. Jamia's hand went onto Gee's belly, right next to Frank's. She got to feel the baby kick from the inside, it's little foot pounding against the wall of Gee's uterus, she smiled as she felt it, feeling a baby kick was something that could make the grumpiest person smile. 

It was a very great moment for the three of them, there was no more bad blood and they could all be mature. Jamia looked at Frank, their eyes locked and she blushed, they both smiled at each other for a moment, and Jamia's heart jumped in her chest, that damn smile of his. Their hands pulled away from Gee's belly, but Frank leaned down and kissed her, as he always did after he felt the babies. 

"You've uh, you've got quite the kicker in there." Jamia commented. 

"They're all kickers, I have a hunch that they'll play soccer in the future." Gee replied. Frank agreed with her, their legs had been kicking constantly since they were able to kick. The only time that they didn't kick, was when they were sleeping but in the womb, babies don't really need sleep.

"So, Frank, are you ready to get started? I think the others are anxious to begin." The topic was quickly changed by Jamia, the rest of the band assumed their places on the set and waited to begin. 

"Yeah, uh, where's Pansy? I swear to God, I set him over there."

"You're not using Pansy, remember? You're using that one over there, the one with the Band's logo on it." Jamia pointed to the stand with his guitar. 

"Shit, that's right. Then yeah, I'm ready to start." He gave her the Okay, "Gee, when I give you the cue, roll back the tape." 

Gee nodded in response. The blood was all rigged into tubes that would leak down the walls, on Frank's drums and would explode at the right time at the push of a button, and Frank had these blood filled capsules that he had found online, Gee had the small bag in her the breast pocket of her Hawaiian shirt. It served Glenn Quagmire vibes but with the white shirt underneath and massive baby bump, that quickly changed. 

The band members got into position, Frank tuned his guitar, took a deep breath, and then gave Gee the cue to roll back the tape of the song. The drums of joyriding began and Frank's dad followed the beat, actually playing even though it wasn't necessary as audio would be played over the video, Frank tried to maintain a serious face but with Gee standing there, he couldn't help but smile a bit. 

Gee watched him with proud eyes, she was incredibly happy that Frank had gotten this chance to live out this career he's dreamed about for so long. Frank played with so much passion, wither it was a live performance, practice, or even just him with a guitar in their home, he took music seriously. 

About a minute into the song, the camera stopped rolling and the tape stopped. Jamia and Gee ran over to the set with bottles of blood. The red liquid was poured into the palms of Evan, down the pants of Frank's dad and on the drum heads, up Matt's nose to give the illusion of a bloody nose, and a large puddle into Frank's mouth. They ditched the idea of the capsules as there was still that plastic coating, he could choke on them, so they substituted it with fake blood. Gee had two bottles of blood in spray bottles, so when during the rest of the shoot, she was given the task of spraying them all with blood. 

Before they continued on with the shoot, Jamia took her camera to get close ups on the blood on all of the boys, Matt's nose, Evan's hands, and Frank's legs. Once the camera began rolling again, it was a closeup of the blood that dripped from Frank's mouth, and within moments blood flung everywhere. It was spritzed onto faces, dripped from the walls, splattered up from each hit to the drum heads, droplets flung onto the microphone and all around the set from Frank's mouth. Their bright white clothing soon became pink with steaks and splotches of crimson. Frank jumped around the set with energy, his arm worked furiously at the guitar yet he managed to match every word to the song. 

At the end of the song, as the ending slowly crept up, Frank was sprayed with more blood and more was squirted into his mouth, his teeth had blood all through them, his lips were colored a dark cherry red. Every part of him had blood on him, even the parts that didn't show. He played with so much energy, the final few shots of the video had to be redone at least four times because Frank often knocked something over, his mic stand, someone else's mic stand, even parts of his Dad's drum set unintentionally. The fifth shot was perfect , no instrument was knocked over, but the set ended with Frank's hands on the mic, a shit-eating grin on his blood covered face stared at the camera until Jamia turned it off. They all cheered as the shoot ended, Frank hugged all of the band members, Jamia, but when he got to Gee, he kissed her and hugged her tightly. 

"I love you." he whispered, the softness of his breath tickled her neck. 'I just shot a fucking music video, Gee!" 

"You did! I'm so damn proud of you, Frankie, that was so cool to watch, I think that our children liked the music, too." the six legs inside of her kicked, and Frank's blood covered hands went down to her belly to feel them. Two red blood prints were left on her white shirt, he was about to apologize for staining a shirt of her, but Gee's own hands had residual blood from preparing the boys for the sudden explosion of blood on set. Her eyes looked over to the bucket of blood next to her, she stuck her hands in the crimson colored substance and then pressed them onto her belly, her handprints were on her white shirt, above Frank's. 

"Hey, Jai, could you like, take a photo of this?" Frank asked. He thought that the bloody handprints on Gee's shirt would make a really cool promotional photo for the video, and kind of an announcement of the pregnancy itself. 

With two snaps of her camera, she took a photo of the bloody handprints themselves, and then one of Frank's hands on her belly. The second one wasn't what Frank meant for Jamia to take, but she did because it was cute. 

The shoot was wrapped up after a few drinks, they were all sticky and covered in the red blood and filled with adrenaline. After two hours, give or take, the band left in order to get cleaned of the blood they had been drenched in. Frank had gone up to his bathroom to wash the red away, to rid himself of that sticky blood on his body. He felt like Carrie after Chris had poured pigs blood all over her during prom, but in a much cooler way. 

While Frank was upstairs showering, Jamia and Gee hung out downstairs for a while. Jamia had wanted to get her opinion on the photos as Gee had that artistic touch to her, she knew what looked good, Jamia thought that herself was quite rusty since all of her dedication went to her midwifery career. The photos had come out great, as did the shots they took of the video, Gee was shown just a clip of the video since Jamia wanted to make it look nice before the full thing was shown. 

Gee approved of it, she thought that it was amazing and shot very well. Jamia decided that she would send her the photos of her belly so she could edit them to her and Frank's desire, it was up to them how they would choose to announce the pregnancy and the release of the Joyriding music video. Gee thanked Jamia for helping them out, especially Frank with shooting the music video. Jamia dropped a bomb on Gee with that topic in place, it was one she wasn't quite expecting. 

"I'm not sure if Frank had told you this yet, but um, he invited me to go on tour with him and take photos of him and the band." Jamia said, a cup of warm tea in her hands. "Apparently no one else knows how to work a camera, so Frank wanted me to do it."

"Oh wow, really?" Gee was a little taken back by it. A part of her wasn't comfortable with the idea of Jamia being alone with Frank, alone as in Herself not being there, she trusted Frank but she wasn't quite sure she trusted Jamia just yet, for all she knew, that whole "I'm over Frank" change was an act. Gee surely didn't want to assume that Jamia would try to bone Frank while in a different country, it would be one thing if Gee was able to go, but she wasn't, her fucking overly concerned obstetrician didn't feel safe with her going. If Jamia wasn't serious about being over Frank, she would try to sink her claws into Frank when given the opportunity.

Gee knew she shouldn't worry, Frank would let nothing happen between himself and Jamia, Frank wasn't stupid, he was also perfectly happy with the woman he was married to, he would never ever dream about cheating on her with a girl from high-school. It was Jamia she had to worry about, God knew her agenda, hopefully it was something good. To relieve Gee a bit, Jamia left their home. she had things to take care of on her own time, she didn't know what was running through Gee's mind, but Gee didn't know what Jamia had in her mind, either.

\- 

After Frank got done with his shower, and got all cleaned up from the blood, he got dressed, then he and Gee leashed up Mama and Sweetpea, and took them for a walk. Each of them had a few plastic bags to pick up dog poop along the way. Frank had Sweetpea, while Gee had Mama on their leashes. Upon their walk, Frank asked her about her doctors appointment again, as they couldn't really go into detail before the shoot. 

"It went good, we got a C-section scheduled for June 11th, so there won't be as great of a chance of you missing the birth and shit."

"A C-section? I thought you were gonna like, push them outta your body." 

"I don't think I can, like, he said that my water won't break on it's own and labor won't progress right, so we just scheduled a C-section to avoid any complications. 

"At least your vagina won't hurt like a motherfucker afterwards, I heard that they can tear all the way to your asshole if you push too hard." he giggled, but she grimaced at the thought. 

"That's true, I'll just have a gaping hole on my body. Am I like, really giving birth in that case? They're not coming out of me like, out of my vagina." 

"Yeah. Anthony and I were born via a C-section because of like, Thomas, my Ma has this wicked scar on her stomach, it almost looks like a smiley face. It's like a Battle scar, nine months of creating a human to have it yanked outta your body like a half-assed surgery for people who sell shit on the black market." 

"What if my uterus is randomly gone? Like we try to have another kid and your sperm just, floats around my body. "

"Another kid? You wanna have more after these rugrats are born?" he asked. The idea of more children hadn't been brought up since they already had three on the way, it wouldn't make much sense to already think about adding more children to their family before the three were born. 

"I don't know. Three kids seems like a lot to handle, but maybe Henry can have a baby brother so he doesn't feel outnumbered with the girls, three against two, but I think he'll be alright with just you, you know? But, it's kind selfish to have a child so the other has a playmate, so I was thinking about getting my tubes tied after I give birth." she said. "Like, I'm just worried that if we do want another baby, I'll end up getting pregnant with triplets or twins, I don't know the statistics on the chances of that but I really don't want to risk it." 

"I was thinking the same thing. Vasectomies I think won't let me like, cum anymore so, kind of destroying what makes me a man, Michael Scott seemed pretty troubled after three vasectomies." 

"Alternatively, we could just use condoms, or I could go on birth control, that way we can keep that window open in case we do decide to have more children." 

"Condoms suck, like, yeah they've prevented you from gettin' knocked up all of those hundreds of times we've fooled around, but it's really hard to cum with a condom on."

"Oh, so that's why you always rip it off before you finish. I must've forgotten, we haven't had to worry about you wearing rubbers since these three babies came about." she walked with one hand on her belly, the other held Mama's leash. "What should we do? Like, keep the window open or just, close it." 

"I think that three kids will be a fucking handful, three screaming, drooling, and shitting babies will surely keep us on our toes. We should just be careful for a while, see how things go and if we want another, I think that Irish dude can like, take my sperm and one of your eggs and combine them in a certain way to prevent triplets or twins, so we just have one baby." 

"Huh. That's cool, a baby created in a petri dish, but I think that would be a good idea. One more baby if we can handle it, just one. If something goes wrong and he or she sprouts a sibling, I'm running away." she giggled. "There's also somethin' else we should probably talk about."

"Like bacteria, but bacteria that we love And will care for, for like 18 years. What's going on, darling?"

"Well, I asked my doctor if I could, even just for either a day or week, come to England with you on tour. I'm sorry, Frankie, I really tried to get him to cave and let me go, but he's scared I'll go into premature labor with all the moving around and shit, so I gotta just live like a hermit for a whole god damn month."

"Shit, Gee. Maybe you can sneak away like you did the first time, if you go into labor, we'll catch the first flight back home." He shrugged it off, it was a tricky situation for them both to be in, especially all the way in England. 

"I would fuckin' love to do that, but even then it's too risky for us. I just, I don't want anything to happen to these babies if I go into labor early, I doubt anyone in England will know how to properly deliver triplets, they won't even be considered U.S. citizens, we'll have to get them passports and fucking green cards and register them as U.S. citizens-

"Hey, hey, it's okay. You won't give birth in England, don't worry. It still fuckin' blows that you can't come with us, tour would be so much more fun with you there, instead Jamia's tagging along to take photos of us, but I'd much rather have my breathtakingly beautiful wife with us." 

"Oh shit, that's right. Jamia told me about that." Her mind was taken off of the matter of not being able to go with Frank, only to be replaced with the worry of Jamia throwing herself onto Frank. "Are you sure like, that's a good idea? I just, I have this feeling in my gut that she's gonna try and like, seduce you or get your dick into some part of her. I know you're a good man, you would never cheat, but Jamia...God knows what she's capable of." 

"Yeah, I thought that too, but you know what, band members will always be around. There won't be enough room on the bus for everyone, so Jamia, Cara, and Evan will all crash at a motel, hotel or something close by. I'll come home with my dick still un-sucked, un-jerked by anyone by yours truly, and I wouldn't have had sex since the last time we bone. Jamia tries to pull one god damn move, I'll have her sent back home immediately. No 'And's, 'If's', or 'But's' about it." 

"Before she leaves, I'll just, maybe casually mention my pistol under our bed. Obviously I'm not going to shoot her, maybe scare her or something, but she needs to know that even though I'm just about 30, I will still beat the shit out of her if she touches even a hair on your head."

"That's my girl." He wrapped his arm around her and kissed her head. His wife was so strong, she wasn't much of a fighter but she would always try her best to protect her family, even though her family was just Frank at the moment, but if anyone like Jamia interfered with her husband, nobody would be safe.


	29. Henry Knows

30 weeks of creating three humans inside of Gee's uterus had come and gone, her due date was a little over a month away which meant that it was time for the absolute last preparations for the arrival of Cherry, Lily, and Henry. Frank would have to leave in exactly two weeks, but before he was set to board a plane to the United Kingdom, though he had his own things to take care of between the editing of Joyriding, filming of two other music videos, and preparations for the upcoming tour. 

Since there were things that Frank, and Gee still wanted to do before the babies arrived and it wouldn't be much fun if Gee did it by herself, such as making a cast of her belly to remember how big her stomach was during the last few weeks of her pregnancy, so they both planned to have those things done before the babies arrived, or at least Frank left. With that in mind, Frank, and Gee had decided to dedicate one day to focus on nothing but the babies and the final preparations. 

The nursery that they had painted when they moved in, was absolutely trashed with gift bags and clothing that guests had purchased, or their parents had. Neither of them genuinely had the time, nor the motivation to do so unless it was absolutely time to do it, so for them to actually sit down and fold everything was a major accomplishment. They had a few hours to kill before Florence was due to arrive for a birthing class, which technically wasn't needed as Gee and her doctor had already scheduled on a C-section, it wouldn't hurt to know the basics of birth. 

Frank brought up a glass of cranberry juice for Gee, and a bottle of ice cold IBC root beer for himself. The couple sat on the floor of their nursery, nearly drowning in all of the baby clothes that surrounded them. Gift bags that were still unopened, and boxes that had still been wrapped were mixed into the pile. It was those sort of things where they didn't know quite where to start. 

"Maybe, we should like, open the gifts and once they're opened, we can put them away with the other shit." Frank, with a cold bottle of root beer in his hand suggested. 

"Holy shit, that's genius. So like, we're making the mess worse and then it'll all be cleaned up." Gee agreed, she reached over to fist-bump Frank. "Alright so uh, let's get crackin'. I'm kind of hoping that there's a coffee maker somewhere wrapped."

"We have three coffee machines, do we need a fourth?" 

"Well, if I'm going to stuck in my room for a month, I'll need some coffee to get me through the last few weeks."

"You do realize that you can go around the house and aren't secluded to our room to live like a hobbit, right?"

"Yeah, I know, of course I still have to get the mail and take the dogs out, but I don't want to get out of bed more than I need to." She shrugged. "Alright, this is from Kristin."

The sparkly pink wrapping paper was pulled back to reveal a brand new set of breast pumps, along with that was a set of baby bottles for milk. The bottles had Ariel from The Little Mermaid on them, even though Gee wasn't the biggest Disney fan, they were still very cute. There was a note in the gift from her and Mikey, "Gee- thank you for inviting us to a beautiful party. I'm sorry that you won't be able to meet Miss Rowan Louise when shes born, but moving closer to my family will be best for her. Mikey and I love you very much and wish you and Frank good luck with the three little munchkins. Love, Kristin, Mikey, and Rowan. P.S. here's our address in California:)" 

Mikey relocating to the other side of the country was something she still couldn't wrap her head around, but Jersey was her home, that's where she and Frank belonged. Gee thought that Mikey belonged in Jersey too, but that was something he had to figure out on his own. They could always visit him, or he could come down to Jersey and visit. It was probably gold that he would move away around the time that Gee would be paying a visit to their mother, she didn't want him to get involved into that, it would probably just get ugly.

The next gift was from Jamia, she gifted the couple some wraps that held the baby close to their chests, along with a few burping cloths and bibs. Jamia knew the essentials that a mother would need, they were either black or red, both were gorgeous. A note was attached to the bag, it said "love, Jamia xoxo." Love? Hugs and kisses? What's there to love? Gee thought, they were just friends and friends like that don't say love. With that new information that Jamia would be joining them to take photos, Gee was suspicious of her actions and what was on her agenda, but she was really trying to let it slide.

Donald brought a gift for Gee, it was a stuffed animal from Gee's childhood, he wanted to pass it down to his grandchildren. On the note that he wrote in completely different handwriting that he normally had, he wrote "I know you know. I'm sorry that I kept it a secret for so long, I should've told you years ago. I understand if you don't forgive me."

"No fucking way." She muttered, looking over the paper. "Holy shit, Frank."

"What?"

"My dad knows that I found out about Donna." She handed him the note for him to see, it surprised her to know that Donald knew, no wonder why he was so standoffish at the gender reveal party. "Now this old bastard is leaving town for a few days, again. Twenty bucks says that he's visiting the old hag."

"Shit, Gee. What're you gonna do if he's there when you show up? Like, surely it will be awkward there if he's there."

"I guess in a way it will be better if here's there, like, y'know? I'll still be mad, because he lied for so long about this. If I had a dime for everyone I had to tell someone, or he told me that my god damn mother was 6 feet underground, I'd be the richest motherfucker alive."

"That's pretty fucked up. I couldn't even imagine lying to my children for so long, hell, I can't even lie to you. I'm a really bad liar."

"I know. I just, ugh, fuck. I love him and all but, this? How do I forgive him? Should I even bother?"

"Depends on his excuse, it's a probably shitty one, in my opinion."

Frank was right, Donald didn't have much of a good excuse to justify what exactly he did to his daughter for so many years, regardless of how Donna was as a person. The topic wasn't dwelled on for long, as they continued to open gifts from their families and friends in support of the new babies entering the world. If they didn't have enough baby clothes already, they certainly had more than enough by the time they finished unwrapping and folding everything. Their dresser was packed with close to 100 onesies in total, beanies so their heads that had little to no hair wouldn't get cold, numerous pairs of shoes, and itty bitty pairs of socks designed for newborns. 

It wasn't until after they folded everything squared away, they realized that they needed to wash the clothing first because God knew who had touched them beforehand, they also didn't have any laundry detergent that was specifically for the sensitive skin of newborns, so they had to make a quick trip to their local Walmart for baby laundry detergent. They also had to grab some soap for them in terms of bathing, as they received towels for newborns, a seat for the tub, and various bath toys from family. 

Kristin recommended this brand what was 100% all natural, safe for sensitive skin, and was cruelty-free, luckily they were able to find that specific brand at their particular store. They passed an isle that contained things like diapers, but they had a boat-load that they had received from their friends and family, they still needed to practice diapering and swaddling their babies correctly, because according to Mothers all across the planet, there's a correct way for everything, even including changing a soiled sack of cloth. 

While they were at the store, they also purchased a few organizers for their bath toys, bins for their regular toys in their nursery, and a black throw rug for the middle of the hardwood floor. They had to go into the store for laundry soap, but came out with decorative items, bath soaps, and bags of candy to cure their sweet teeth. M&M's, Skittles, and Oreos would not only cure their sweet teeth, but act as caffeine that they certainly didn't need. 

On their way back from the store, Gee dropped some news on Frank. It was something that went sort of against what her doctor ordered, but she just wanted to see Frank preform one last time before the babies exited the womb with a fiery vengeance. 

"Wait, you're doing what now? I mean, I don't ever mind you joining me in anything, but this is risky as hell, like, what if you go into premature labor? Neither of us know how to safely deliver a baby, let alone three, and I'm sure that any doctor in the U.K. will know how to, either." 

"It's two days, Frankie, and it won't even be in the time-zone where I'm expected to go into labor. I just, it'll be the last time where it's just me and you. Like fuck, our children will be here in like, a month or so but still, you'll be gone for most of it." 

"Gee.." he shot her a look of disapproval, more so uncertainty. "I've made some bad choices in my life, ate a shit ton of weed because I was convinced that cops were lurking around my place, then shit my pants because I hallucinated so fucking badly, I thought the fucking Exorcist was behind the shower curtain. But I think allowing you to come with us is like, slightly worse than that. It didn't concern me as much back in January, but now that you're getting close to delivering, I don't want us to risk it."

"I thought you told me that you shit your pants because you ate too much ice cream? You're lactose intolerant?" she giggled, "But, I know, Frank. It's going to really suck being away from you for so long, ever since we like, started dating, we've never spent that long apart from each other." 

"That's better to explain to someone I just entered a relationship with." he shrugged. "Darling, you do know that you'll have to fly back home by yourself, right? If like, we risk it and you come to England with us. I don't think I'll have the time to like, fly home and then fly back to England before I got to get my ass in gear." 

"I-yeah, I kind of figured that out. Still not sure how the hell I'm going to survive a 6-hour flight alone, and not higher than a damn kite. Just as long as I can see you rock out with your cock out one last time before I give birth. Also, we are not telling Emmett at all, he will choke me with those cold hands of his." she shivered at the thought of his hands, those damn cold hands that even with gloves on, were still ice cold. 

"We should think about this a little more, weigh the options before we buy an extra plane ticket." he smiled at her, one of his hands went onto her thigh. Even though it went against entirely what her doctor said, one night would certainly not do much damage, they still had to be careful, so two days would be the maximum she was allowed to stay otherwise, they would enter very dangerous territory. 

\- 

Within an hour, Frank and Gee had arrived at their home with bags full of groceries for the triplets. All of their clothing were unfolded, tossed into a laundry basket or two, and then loaded into their washing machines. Florence would be arriving at the house soon, with that fancy machine and a plan to educate them on the process of birth. 

As the washer washed the tiny onesies, Gee and Frank were up in the nursery putting together their cribs. The structure themselves had already been built, but sheets that had already been washed had yet to be assembled, the sheets themselves were black with skeletons in the shape of teddy bears, they didn't have pillows because there was a change that the babies could suffocate, same with blankets, but they did have stuffed animals in their cribs. The stuffed animals were either aliens, Yoda, or other Starwars character. They had a rocking chair in the corner of the room, a blanket draped over the back and a cushion on the seat. The nursery was just about finished, the only thing that was missing, were the three babies that had yet to sleep in those cribs. 

"So, uh, is there anything else we should add?" Gee asked as she looked around the room. We have furniture, mobiles, fuckin baby clothing. I dont know what else we could be missing."

"I don't think so. I think that this room is ready for them, I don't really know what else we might need for them. Wait, Gee, holy shit-"

"What?"

"Like, I have that app on my phone that gives me updates on the progress of our babies, and it says that they're each the size of a head of lettuce right now, when we first found out that you were pregnant, they were the size of raspberries and now, a whole fucking head of lettuce, that's like, 100 raspberries." his eyes lit up, thinking about his children always brought that glimmer of light into his eyes. 

"Oh, yeah, that's true. It's kind of cool how we ended up here, y'know? Wait, Frank, our babies weren't like, planned. Does that make us horrible parents? I didn't even want them in the beginning, like, I hate to admit it but I considered an abortion a few times."

"Not at all, I mean, not all pregnancies are planned, or at least I don't think so. That shit with the abortion and doubts was like, normal given the circumstances, but it's in the past and you're still pregnant, either that or you've swallowed a few too many watermelon seeds and it grew inside of you."

"Sure fucking feels like it." She sighed as she looked down at her belly, one hand under her bump that was large enough that she was not able to see her own feet. Frank wrapped his arm around her and kissed her head, "I still can't like, fathom that we will be parents soon. I know I'm always complaining about being pregnant and whining like a god damn bitch all of the time, but I'm really happy."

"Yeah?" A small smile crept onto Frank's face, his hand rubbed her arm lovingly. "I'm really happy that you're happy, our babies will be welcomed into this world in a loving place, we just need to make sure anything that can like, get in the way of that is taken care of."

"I know, and I'm really dreading doing that but like, it's preventing a storm that could tear everything apart. It's only like, a few hours with her, then I - hopefully - won't have to think about her anymore, let alone stressing over it when I should be focusing on my children, work, and you." Her head was on his shoulder, her hand was rested on his chest. "I just have to get through this hurdle, and just as long as Donna doesn't cause anymore shit, everything will be fine." 

Gee wasn't wrong, by the time everything with Donna was all sorted out, it would be time for her and Frank to just focus on being parents. Even though one of her's was practically nonexistent in her eyes, she really set out to be the best parent she could be, even though she wasn't the best person in her years. Within the last seven months of the pregnancy, it never really occurred to Gee that she should try and work on her parenting skills, but with that clock ticking down by the minute before she pops, and then with that hurdle of burning bridges with Donna, she needed to tackle that head on to have enough time for the last preparations, and she also did not want her in the lives of her children. In her life, Donna screwed nearly everything up for her, and she did not want her to screw that up, either.

-

Florence, the woman with the gorgeous hair and soft accent showed up with her bag full of goodies that every midwife carried with them. A doppler, a portable ultrasound machine, gel, and a binder full of things that she needed to either explain, or show to Frank and Gee about pregnancy. She arrived at the Iero home dressed in a long purple checkered dress, black heels with a purse that matched the beautiful gown. Her hair was tied up in a neat ponytail, her bangs were neatly straightened on her forehead, similar to how Jamia always had her hair. 

When she arrived at the home, the first item on her agenda was to set them up for a session of a birthing class. Florence brought in a baby blue colored mat, and a yoga ball not only for the birthing class, but the yoga ball was for Gee to keep for when she's actually in labor. They sat everything up in the living room, their coffee table was pushed over to the side of the room so they would have more floor space. 

To kick the class off, Florence started to explain the three stages of labor and what things she should look out for. Even though Florence's job was to assist her in natural childbirth, they didn't see the need for her anymore, since they were scheduled for a C-section on June 11th. Florence merely snickered at that, saying that there was always the possibility of her going into natural labor and being able to push those babies out of her lady parts. 

"There are many stages of labor, the first stage, second stage, then the delivery of the placenta. The first stage is when the contractions begin and your cervix dilated, the second stage is when the cervix is completely dilated to ten centimeters, and ends at the birth of your babies." Florence explained, a cup of coffee in her hands. "Questions?"

"Uh, yeah. What Is the placenta, exactly?" Gee asked, a cup of her own coffee in her hands. 

"It's what's attached to your uterus, what supplies nutrients and oxygen to the baby inside of you, each baby has their own. Speaking of placentas, are you planning on eating them after birth?"

Gee and Frank nearly choked on their own spit after those words left Florence's mouth. They had read their baby books, done research, but no one ever said anything about eating the placenta after birth. "Excuse me, what?" 

"Many mothers turn their placenta into vitamins, chocolate, or they'll just cook it and turn it into some sort of dish. They do it because of the nutritional properties, it contains tons of vitamins that a new mother would certainly need after childbirth." 

"Yeah uh, about that, I'm a vegetarian. I hate eating meat, I take iron daily, so like, eating the thing that gave my children oxygen and food probably won't stick with my diet, it's pretty damn cool though, if you think about it - kind of gross, but cool." 

"Consuming your placenta isn't harming any living thing - animals, humans, insects, so technically it is considered to be vegetarian and vegan friendly. The preferred method of new mothers is to dry it, crush it into a very fine power, and fill capsules with it and take it as a daily vitamin." 

"Ew." she groaned, "Will it do anything for my babies?"

"Well, do you plan on breastfeeding?"

"Yeah, I mean, there's really no other way to feed them, like, other than formula, I guess."

"The extra vitamins will go straight to your breastmilk, and it will give them more vitamins as well, it will certainly help with their growth and development." she said, Gee and Frank took it all in. On one hand, it grossed Gee out to ingest the thing that sat inside of her uterus for so long, but if it would help her babies by giving them more good things, it was obviously the best option. 

Frank thought it was really cool, being able to eat what kept their children alive inside of the womb. Even though he would not be the one eating it, even just the concept itself was insanely cool. Gee, it nauseated her just a little bit, but that could've been the pregnancy hormones just causing unnecessary nausea nearly every day. In the end, she did agree to the whole placenta capsule idea just for her children. 

As they talked to Florence, Gee had the temptation to ask her about accompanying Frank on his grand tour to England, but she was held back by the overwhelming thought that Florence wouldn't allow it, like Emmett, and her own husband. Maybe at some point she would bring it up at some point, through a quick call or text, she just wanted to focus on one thing at one time. 

Florence gave them a form to fill out about the placenta, it had the option if Gee wanted to have those vitamins, or have them made into treats like truffles, chocolate bars, or peanut butter cups. The idea of the treats could be a bad idea, in the event that they're left out and someone eats one without knowing that they had just ingested a chocolate, peanut butter-y treat made with the placenta of Cherry, Lily, and Henry. To avoid that, and the extra calories, Gee checked off the box that made her choice of the vitamins official, Florence would take care of the rest, the placentas would be saved and sent off to a lab where they will be dried, pulverized, and put into gel-capsules.

She also had a few other forms she needed Gee and Frank to sign, just standard consent forms for her services and aide in childbirth, and the post-partum care. The next part of the session with Florence was to show, and have Gee practice positions that will help with contractions, progress labor, and ensure that all of the babies are in the correct position so none of them come out breech, or stuck in the birth canal. 

The first position was her just sitting on the yoga ball, one hand on her knee and the other underneath her belly for support. She was told to bounce gently on the ball, aside from the matter, she found that it was relaxing, it would definitely help her when the painful labor actually occurred. A small part of her was scared that the ball would slip out from under her, but Frank and Florence supported the back of the ball to ensure that would never happen. 

Then, they moved into a position where her arms were on Frank's shoulders, his hands were on her hips and they swayed. Florence had a stopwatch to time imaginary contractions, it could also allow them to get used to staying in a certain position for a few minutes at a time. 

"This is like our first dance at our wedding." Frank commented, "Except you weren't pregnant, and we weren't in this strange of a position but it was quite similar." 

"That...didn't cross my mind. I'm in fake labor, can't lose track of my phantom contractions." she said, and they both giggled. 

"You're doing good, Geralyn. You're in the perfect position, this one will help a lot during labor."

"You can call me Gee, y'know." Gee looked over at Florence out of the corner of her eye, typically only old relatives or anyone professional used the name Gee hated, but she felt comfortable enough for Florence to use a nickname. Florence preferred to call her Geralyn, it was very respectful in her mind - which it really was, Florence was a very respectful woman. "Have you and your husband decided on names?" she asked, on the topic of names. 

"Henry Frank, Lilian Elena, and Cherry Vanya. We originally went with Rose for Cherry's middle name, but that is just a little, not us? It's kind of cool because every name in our children's names, have a meaning behind them." Gee explained. She and Frank switched positions as she talked, Frank sat beside her as she sat on her knees, hands rubbed her back. 

"Those names are incredible. I haven't heard of the name 'Vanya' before, us it Italian?"

"Nah. Vanya is actually uh, she's the only female character in my comic series. I kind of chose that name because it was the first ever comic of mine to get published, plus it's a sick name. Vanya is a strong woman, she has incredible talent on the violin and the whole family has superpowers."

"Very imaginative, I love the female empowerment that you've included, ladies like myself and you can do incredible things that men can't, for example, grow and give life to human beings." She said, Gee smiled softly at Florence's compliment. Gee chose Cherry's middle name because of that reason, she wanted her daughters to know that they were strong, even from an early age, it was much better than Rose, something meaningless. It was something she and Frank felt perfectly would suit their daughter. 

Another position Florence had them practice, was a little more awkward than Gee anticipated. The Mother-To-Be was instructed to sit on the couch with her back against the cushions, while Florence and Frank held each of her legs to mimic stirrups that a doctor would have. Florence told her that the position was the ideal position for birth, it compressed all of her muscles to allow to the babies to come out easier and without hassle. Her cheeks burned a bright red, she felt exposed but the bright side was that she was not half naked, only dressed in a thin sheet they call a gown at the hospital. It certainly was a position she had been in before, except her legs were on Frank's shoulders and she didn't have a massive belly, it was the different circumstance that was wildly uncomfortable.

"Okay, we're going to practice breathing now." Florence said, "Take a deep inhale, wait a few seconds, and then exhale slowly though the mouth. Frank, if you want to do it as well, feel free. We actually encourage Dads to do it as well." 

Gee nodded at Florence, then took a sharp inhale. She closed her eyes and held the breath, then slowly blew it out of her mouth. "Good, now do it again. During the time you'll be pushing, they will have you push for ten seconds between breaths. Breathe, push, breathe, push, and so on. But, before you push, they'll have you pant and then push, we aren't going to do that today, but once you're all checked into the hospital, we'll have plenty of time to practice." 

"This is so cool. It's like, practicing before the big show." Frank added and kissed her cheek, he adjusted his grip on her leg. 

"If by big show you mean pushing three human beings out of my body, then yeah, I agree with that." she giggled awkwardly as she brushed a piece of hair out of her face. "Are we almost done? My old bones can't stay in one place like this for a long time." she said and Frank giggled at that, knowing it was far from the truth from what he had seen and done with her. 

Florence still wanted to keep going so Gee had more practice, it would make labor and delivery so much easier in her opinion. Gee just went with it and chose to push through the next forty five minutes of practice labor. By the time they finished, Gee had learned new ways to breathe that she didn't even know existed, she knew pants, inhales, exhales, but some of the things Florence told her were completely new to her. She was right, too, the breathing relaxed her and she thought that when labor really occurred, those breathing exercises will help her out tremendously.

After the breathing exercises and labor positioning was done, Florence brought out her Doppler and ultrasound machine to get a quick scan of the babies' heartbeats. She rested against the couch with her shirt tucked underneath her breasts, Florence squirted a good amount of the ultrasound gel onto her belly, then used the doppler to massage it around, the sound of the triplet's heartbeats came through the speaker soon after, it sounded like a herd of horses galloping through a muffled speaker. 

Florence listened to them closely, "They're all good, strong, they're all between 125 and 135, that's perfectly normal for being at this point in your pregnancy. At this stage, your pelvis is loosening for birth, so you might experience some balance issues and a little discomfort." 

"Does that explain why I waddle now? Like a month ago I could walk like a normal person, now I'm like, a large, pregnant, penguin." 

"Yes, it just gives the babies more room during delivery, so they aren't squished." she said, "Would you and your husband want to see them in 3D?"

"Yes, please." Frank said eagerly, almost shaking with excitement. Frank and Gee watched as Florence switched screens, pressed some buttons and scanned around the babies. She scanned over Lily, Cherry, and Henry to measure them and check their anatomy to be sure that they were developing according to their schedule, 

They noticed her focusing on one particular baby, it raised concern for them as she wasn't saying anything and she seemed so, infatuated with what was going on inside of Gee's uterus. Frank grabbed Gee's hand in held it as they watched Florence, butterflies in their stomachs as they waited for Florence to say something, anything. 

"Huh, would ya' look at that." She muttered, smiling a little. Florence turned the screen over to Gee and Frank, showing them what she saw, her mouse-cursor pointed to the twin girls. 

"Aww, there's Cherry and Lily." Gee smiled, her eyes shining as she saw her daughters. They grew from a bundle of cells to cute baby girls, they had a cute pixie nose like their mother and the jawline of their father. God, in that moment, Gee forgot about any of the risks that could happen until she gave birth, and only thought about the moment until she was able to meet her children. She used the back of her hand to wipe a tear that slipped from her eyes.

Florence panned over to Henry, he was to the left of the girls, his hands were curled in front of his face and his knees were bent, the umbilical cord was attached to his tiny belly. His eyes were squished shut and his mouth was open, his expression showed one of displeasure, it looked like he was crying, but they didn't think that babies could cry in the womb. "It looks like your little one is crying, but don't worry, it's normal for babies to express emotion in the womb, but they aren't sad." 

"Holy fuck, Henry's crying." Frank said. He pulled out his phone and recorded the screen, he zoomed in to Henry's face. Gee watched Henry, it was so neat to know that even in the womb, babies can cry and do things inside of the womb, like hiccup, pee, sprout erections, even smile. Frank himself almost cried as he watched his son cry, even though he wasn't crying out of need or discomfort. 

Gee could feel Henry move, his little legs kicked as he cried, the thumping of his legs against her uterus created a static sound on the doppler. "He's kicking." 

"Sometimes rubbing your belly will comfort the baby, they know that it's their mother, maybe give it a shot." Florence suggested, adjusting her grip. Gee took the suggestion and rubbed the top of her belly, all eyes were on the screen, waiting for Henry to stop crying. 

Nearly five minutes of waiting went by until the unborn child's expression changed from one to distress, to one of content, they all swore that they saw a little smile on Henry's face. Frank cried at that point, Gee smiled and gasped, his first smile. It was so cute and it made his parents so happy to see that, Florence made sure to print out a few copies of the photo for them to do add to their book of memories that they'll continue to add to until they physically can't.  
-

After Florence finished the scan of Gee's belly, she gave them a few of the photos, gave them a packet they'd need to refresh on the birthing positions and what to do when she goes into labor. Gee didn't ask her about joining Frank on tour because what Florence would say, would probably not be what she wanted to hear.

Frank was bouncing with excitement like a child even after Florence left, he held that photo of Henry and his daughters close to him, he might've even stuck it in the pocket of his god awful, ugly, pink, blue, and orange shorts just for safe keeping. Gee was incredibly happy herself, she was able to see her children move inside of her, not just feel them. They were both quick to put the photos in their scrapbook, written at the bottom of the page was, "4-29-10 : Henry, Lily, and Cherry! Henry cried, but after Gee rubbed her belly, Henry smiled. 1 month and 13 days!"

The entries didn't end there, they continued to add photos throughout the day. When they took out the belly-casting kit that was gifted to them by Lindsey, mixed up the mixture that they would dip the long pieces of that they assumed to be gauze or some sort of cloth that would go on Gee's tummy.

Since the belly cast would extend to her breasts, Gee dug out an old bandeau she had and used that to cover her breasts. It was essentially a thick, circle of cloth that went around her boobs to act as a shitty bra. Frank's hands had a pair of gloves on them to ensure that the glue-like substance wouldn't get stuck underneath his fingernails or rings. 

"Fuck!" She gasped as the first strip of cloth was placed into her belly, unexpectedly cold. 

"What? Are you okay?" Frank asked, he took his hands off of her instantly. 

"Yeah, that's just, cold as hell. Wait, how the fuck am I going to take a leak? I'm nearly eight months pregnant, I have to piss every five minutes." 

"Shit, guess we didn't think this through. Don't drink anything for like, a half an hour, so you don't have to piss and fuck up the belly cast." 

"What're we going to do with this thing, anyways? I'm sure I don't want to remember how fucking fat I was, nor the back pain I suffered from carrying these dudes." She laughed at that, "Before I got pregnant, I weighed like, 160, but at my recent doctor's appointment, 205. That's 55 pounds extra added onto my body."

"Hey, Gee, you're not fat, that's just baby weight. I think Florence said that you're - er, mothers who are pregnant with triplets, are supposed to gain between 50 and 60 pounds. You'll lose it all after they pop outta ya." He gave her a reassuring smile, "Believe it or not, I still find you sexy as hell. I'm like, not into maeiusophilia or whatever, I don't jack it to photos of pregnant women, but regardless of your belly, I still get hard thinkin' about you."

"You charmer." her cheeks blushed. "So uh, like, are we done screwin' around until the babies come?"

"I hope not. Hopefully we can still like, do it a few more times, but it's entirely up to you, like if you're comfortable with doing it." 

"I mean, I'm super self conscious now, with this extra weight and these weird changes to my body, but I'm comfortable around you. We've been together how long?"

"Approximately 7 years, 21 days, but who is keeping track?" Frank was oddly very accurate, but off by just a few days. He kissed her nose, then her lips softly. "That was the last strip, now we just wait a half an hour for this sucker to dry. Hey, uh, maybe if you're up to it, like you aren't going to hurl your dinner into our pipes, we can shake the bed for a while. Just it being the two of us, while we still have time before those little rascals crash the party."

An offer she couldn't refuse, sex with her husband of four years, despite the fact she was carrying three humans in her body. Gee was on board with the idea of it just being it the two of them, no worrying about the babies just for a few hours, because when those babies arrive, everything will be about them. Those moments where they were alone will soon be scarce, so they figured that they should take advantage of it while they had the opportunity. 

The next half hour went by quite fast, she and Frank sat in the kitchen and talked until the kitchen timer went off. The harden cast of her belly was gently removed from her body, without any cracks or breaks in the cement like material, the shape of her belly and breasts was perfectly matched in the cast, Frank thought it was the coolest thing ever, the shape of her was mimicked with something from a plastic bag. 

"Gee, look, I'm you!" He exclaimed, he placed the hardened cast on his body. "Holy shit, how can you see your feet?"

"Aww Frankie, you're pregnant!"

"I'd be a hot pregnant woman, just sayin. I even have tits! Aw man, I wish that I could live like you for just one day, carrying out children and doing things that a pregnant woman does." 

"Spend the entire night in the bathroom, eat unreasonable amounts of food, insomnia, boobs that hurt constantly, swollen everything, nausea, heart burn, constipation, should I continue?" she listed off all of the things she had experienced, hoping to turn him off from the idea of himself being pregnant. 

"I mean, you're creating people, crazy shit was gonna happen to your body."

"And by 'crazy shit' you mean, not knowing if I'm going to either puke or use the bathroom for hours on end. I swear to god, in the past eight months of my life, I've seen our bathroom more in that time than I ever had." Gee put her shirt back on as she talked, her Madonna Tee had little white crumbs of the belly cast. She took her phone out of her purse and pointed it at Frank, she took two photos of him, with one of him just smiling that gorgeous smile of his, and one where he posed like a mother in a maternity shoot, his hands cradled the fake belly and he looked down as a mother would. 

Frank laughed so hard when he saw the photos, it not only gave him a great laugh, but it gave him a brilliant idea to announce her pregnancy to his followers. Once the belly cast was safely placed in an area of their home, Frank had her send the photos to his phone, then he posted them both with a black and white filter on them, the background was blurred and his figure was the main focus of the photo. They were both posted with the following caption, 

"I would like to announce that my beautiful wife and I are expecting triplets early this Summer! We waited to announce her pregnancy until we were out of the woods, but we'll be welcoming our babies in just a few short weeks! can't wait to meet you. xoxofrnk&gee." 

There it was, the official announcement to the world - 50k followers and influencers in the media that would certainly cause an uproar about the pregnancy, not because Frank was at the top of the charts, but because they had never seen anyone expect triplets. That was something Gee was a little concerned about, she didn't want to steal the glowing spotlight from Frank with the pregnancy, but it was his idea, and their choice to go through with the announcement. 

So many people in the media would see it, people who supported him and those who just followed Frank because he was really attractive and had a very unique style, and people that weren't supposed to see - or know about the pregnancy just yet. It was something that was inevitable and they would soon find out, but it was another thing that they could look back on and remember all of the steps tha they took before those three little monsters joined the world.


	30. My Eldest Daughter

May 1st, 2010, | 30 weeks pregnant   
I know I've said that she's 30 weeks pregnant / 5 weeks from the due date for a while but I fucked up the timeline and just tried to fix it, this is why you should plan out dates waaay in advance. 

tw/// mentions of drug & alcohol use, past addiction, threaten of relapse, blood, vomit, argument. not sure what else there is to add, but yea, be cautious while reading :-) thx  
-  
In 1976, Donald Way married a woman by the name of Donna Rush. Donna was a gorgeous woman, light brown hair, porcelain skin, and a strong attitude. From the first time he laid his eyes on her, Donald knew that Donna was the love of his life. When her accident had circled back to him, he was broken into a million pieces, despite her drug addictions and adulatory, he still loved her more than life it's self. Donna gave him two children and something to live for, with her gone, Donald only had his son and daughter to watch over, it was hard to raise those children on his own, so Donna's mother, Elena stepped in to help. 

Elena was Gee, and Mikey's mother figure since their biological mother was put of the picture. The children grew up with little, the government helped with welfare payments but even then it wasn't enough. Throughout their lives, Donald kept a big secret from those children, the children that believed their mother was six feet under ground in a steel coffin that they watched being lowered into the ground when they could barely even walk on their own.

They lived their lives without her, it was something that they had to learn to do because they knew Donna would not be coming back, they made it through birthdays, deaths, graduations, weddings, tragedies, even pregnancies because they didn't know how to live any other way. But when April of 2010 came around, Donna's oldest child found out about her status, she was not dead, in fact, she was alive and living well in Brick, a place very close to Delaware. 

Donna didn't begin to raise suspicions until early that year when a questionable note was plastered on their door, then a mysterious woman was seen outside of the Iero home, staring up at the house. Gee never imagined that Donna would reappear nearly 30 years after her alleged death, the timing itself was horrible, any time in those 25 years that Donna was gone she could've appeared, but when Gee fell pregnant with triplets and was just a few weeks from giving birth. 

Gee was faced with a decision, she could either meet with her mother and get answers that she suddenly had questions for. Or, she could ignore her even being alive and live with her life and prepare to be a mother, but she didn't believe that Donna would stop with her schemes and continue to stalk her family and use Donald as a mole to keep up with herself, Mikey, and their families. 

In order to protect her children from knowing someone like Donna, Gee wanted to cut all ties with her instead of not doing anything, because if Donna was lurking around Gee's home and sending gifts for her birthday, and God knew what else Donna had been doing, the most Gee knew is that Donald kept her up to date with many things, relationships, their children, Gee wasn't sure of what she didn't know at that point. 

The decision to meet with Donna was made after discussing it with Frank, Gee weighed the options heavily and considered the options and consequences of doing so, reconnecting with her mother with barely any memory of her, it was like she was a stranger at that point. Elena was someone that she could call her mother, not Donna, she was more so a stranger. 

The days leading up to the rendezvous had been absolutely nerve wracking for Gee, the anticipation drove her up a wall, she chewed her nails, snuck in a few smoking breaks while Frank was busy, out of the house, or she was out of the house, though she didn't drink any alcohol, that was something she was committed to for the sake of her children. 

On the night before she was set to begin the drive to Brick, she and Frank were in their living room with a tray full of various snacks on their coffee table, an old black and white television show played while Gee was on the couch with her feet kicked up, and Frank wore a Moby wrap on his chest, with Sweetpea in the contraption as practice for when the babies arrive.

"You alright?" Frank asked as he rocked Sweetpea, one hand was under neath her rear end to support her. He noticed Gee chew her nails more than usual, she picked at them until there was barely anything left that could be chewed off, she didn't utter a word or anything for close to an hour, her mind raced with things about the next day and what could happen, or go wrong.

"I don't know, Frankie," she sighed. "I'm meeting with my mother tomorrow, God knows if she's still a junkie. I can't be around junkies, even powdered sugar reminds me of coke and I get scared I'll relapse by even baking. Or if she even has alcohol on her breath, I'll want a drink, even now I want a fucking drink and if she even smells like booze, I can't guarantee that I won't stop by the state store on my way home. I'm an ex-addict, and an alcoholic, I'm scared that she will have a tunicate on her arm and whiskey dripping down her chin."

"Maybe she's changed, 24 years can do a lot to a person, or her brain is just completely useless because of drugs and liver failure."

"Donna nearly traded our family car for blow, or heroin, gave me fucking bourbon when I was teething because she thought it would soothe the pain- no wonder why I grew up to be a raging alcoholic, faked her death, then returned oddly as soon as I got pregnant. Doesn't seem like she's much different than how she was before."

"Holy shit, no offense but your Dad doesn't know how to pick winners. Elena should've sat on a coat hanger when she had the chance. Like, in the event she is drinking or is on drugs, leave and call me, I'll talk to you until you get back to our house, okay?"

"Don't you have to clean out the church tomorrow? Like, for Weighted, I don't want you to like, stop that just to be sure I don't snort a line."

"Yeah, but you can FaceTime me and I'll show you around and the progress we've made so far. I just want to be sure that you're alright. Don't take this the wrong way but I don't trust you to not buy a bottle of scotch or find a gram somewhere, for God sakes, I can't even trust you around mouthwash or aftershave."

"Yeah, neither do I." She sighed, reaching for her bottle of Diet Coke. "I just have to remember that I was so close to blowing brains out when I was addicted, and know I've made so much prepress with my recovery, I can't go back to how I was. Donna won't do that to me, not again." 

"That's my girl." He smiled over at her, "I'm very proud of your progress, like, you have no idea. Just don't let that women destroy that, those AA and NA meetings, all that puke on yourself, on me, basically everywhere while you detoxed. Take a chip with ya, take it out if you feel the urge to drink or whatever, it'll remind you of everything you've accomplished in these last few years."

Upstairs in Gee's nightstand, sat a pile of NA chips of various colors, from red to bronze, or 30 Days sober to 1 Year of sobriety, they were there to remind her of all of the progress she had made to remain clean. Anytime she felt the urge to snort a line, light a joint, or drown herself in a bottle of Scotch, she pulled out one of her NA chips to think back on the progress, and how hard things wore before she decided to get clean. Everything she had worked for would be swirled down the toilet like it was pointless. 

Gee told herself that she needed to be strong, mentally and physically to resist any temptation to drink, or do any sort of drug before or after meeting with the mother that disappeared all those years ago. This was her time to really prove how strong she was, or how strong she could be. This was the hardest thing she had to deal with since the miscarriage, sure the pregnancy was a shocker and definitely world rocking, but this situation with Donna was a fresh, deeply cut wound in Gee's soft, pale flesh. Every time she thought about Donna, it felt like someone had a salt shaker and poured salt on that wound, burning and stinging and there could be nothing done but forget the pain. 

In the time that Gee felt that, she had the choice to either drown it out with something such as working on her comics, hanging out with her husband, or taking a walk to calm down and relax. More often than not, she was stuck thinking about it more than she wanted to, and to stop those thoughts that raced through her mind, her only choice was to tackle it head on. Gee knew that in 24 hours after the time she met with the woman she didn't call her mother, everything in her world would go back to normal. 

-

As if her pregnancy, or her babies knew that she was under a lot of stress, that morning she was supposed to meet with Donna, she woke up with terrible morning sickness. For nearly an hour, she was hunched over the porcelain toilet of her bathroom as the insides of her guts spilled from her mouth, so violently that her nose bled, red crimson dripped from her nose and down her face, mixing with the vomit that spilled from her mouth and nose. 

"Jesus, darling. Can I get you anything? Toast, crackers..." Frank's soft voice echoed through the bathroom, his hand on her back while the other held a roll of toilet paper. 

"Don't mention food, please." Gee gaged, her face basically inside of the toilet bowl. "It's never been as bad as this, I can hardly feel my knees anymore." 

"Sit up, I don't want you choking on your own blood." he tore a piece of paper from the roll, folded it in the hand that was free. "Don't puke on me, please, this is my favorite shirt." 

"No promises." she giggled as she slowly sat up, her face drenched in sweat, blood leaked from her nose and vomit stained her chin, her eyes red and purple bags underneath her eyes. "Am I done being pregnant yet?" 

"Not quite, still one month and uh, nine days left. Almost there, Jiggy, you're just about to the finish line. Y'know, the babies might know you're stressed out, so they're stressed and their stress makes you puke, and get unintentional nose bleeds, kind of clear the stress out of you." 

"Henry, I know it's you. Cut it out, I might just puke up my fucking stomach." Her voice was strained, she fell completely weak against the bathtub. Frank's hand supported the back of her head as he cleaned her up. He was a little scared she was going to get sick again, but from what he saw, there was nothing more that could come out of her that isn't an organ. 

"You done? I think you should lay down, or get something in your stomach so you don't feel even shittier." 

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure. I'm gonna shower first, I fucking reek like puke, it's in my hair and just, not okay. I don't think reuniting with my deadbeat mother reeking like puke is the best idea."

"That's a good idea. I'll make you a snack, how does soup and crackers sound?"

"Like I'm not going to touch the soup, but instead eat an entire sleeve of Ritz crackers. I never liked them until I got pregnant." she groaned as she stood up, one hand on her stomach and the other was used to lift herself off of the bathroom floor. Gee suddenly got a wave of lightheadedness, she quickly grabbed the closest thing near her so she didn't fall. Her iron must've been low, or she just stood up too quickly, a side effect of her medication is that if she stood up too quickly, she could pass out, so it was a toss up between the cause. 

-

While Frank went downstairs to fix up a snack for himself and Gee, Gee stayed up in the bathroom and showered to get rid of that putrid stench of stomach bile and half digested food from her body. 

The hot water sprayed on her, dropped down her body to her toes, then finally swirling down the drain of the shower. Hot steam and cedar wood scented body wash relaxed her anxiety, and some of the aches and pains that pregnancy riddled her with. The nausea gradually went away as she showered, oddly, the scents of her soap made her feel less nauseous, must've been the essential oils within them. She was never a fan of showers, kind of how a cat hated water, but when in the right mood, she didn't mind it whatsoever. Gee stayed in there a little longer than usual, the calm environment kept her in that place. 

After the long, tranquil shower, she dried herself off and dressed into a comfortable outfit. Gee dressed herself in a cherry red t-shirt, a navy blue jean jacket, a pair of black, maternity shorts that rested just above her knees, and a pair of black vans. A pair of sunglasses rested on her head, her appearance on the outside didn't match how she felt on the inside, she couldn't be more nervous if she tried, the inside felt as if sirens went off and everything had gone haywire. It was perfectly justifiable, though she needed to calm down before she arrived at Donna's house unannounced. She chose the route of showing up unannounced, as It seemed to be more "Straight to the point", but was more confrontational and she wasn't one that liked confrontation, but that was unavoidable in either direction she chose to take. 

Before she left her home, Gee stopped down to the kitchen where she and Frank shared a nice pot of freshly brewed coffee to take the edge off. Frank still wore that wrap with Mama inside of it, which lightened the mood in the house, as did Sweetpea running into the kitchen with a kitchen towel wrapped around her rear end. 

"Frankie, why is our dog wearing a diaper?" She asked, her conversation with Frank was interrupted by the eager Chihuahua trotting into the kitchen, her nails clacked against the hardwood of the floor. "Is that one of our dish towels? Frank, we dry dishes with those." 

"We need to learn how to diaper things, and Sweetpea was the perfect thing to test it out on. Mitch would tear me to shreds, and Mama's too big." He had a proud smile on his face, "I thought about using a few from the nursery, but I'd be wasting them when our babies' butts will need them." 

"What if she like, does her business, in one of our towels? Frank." his name was drawn out, almost as a whine, her head fell into her hands with a sigh. "I'm not mad at you, or about our dog using a kitchen towel as a diaper, just stressed." 

"Hey, it's okay. You don't have to go, maybe Donna will just back off." he quickly went to her side, he keeled down beside her and placed a hand on her back. "Don't push yourself, Jiggy. It's okay to not do it because you feel unsafe, but if you feel scared, you have to face that."

"You're right, I have to face her." she sighed, "I should probably head out, Brick is almost four hours away and if I wanna beat traffic, I have to leave when I can." 

"I packed you a lunch for the road, remember to call me if anything happens, alright? If like, I don't answer the phone, text Evan and he'll tell me." he handed her a brown paper bag with "Gee" written on the front of it, on the side of the bag was a very small Ziploc baggie with her prenatal vitamins, so she wouldn't forget to take them with food. 

Frank walked her out to the car, still with Mama on his chest. They kissed and hugged before Gee left, Gee was hesitant about leaving but there was no turning back. Her heart ached when saw Frank in the rear view mirror of her car, she was barely out of their driveway before shew knew that leaving wasn't a good idea, but she needed to remind herself that meeting with Donna was something she had to do.  
-  
Three hours later, a bag of baby carrots, cherries-that Frank already pitted, two coffees, and half of a PB&J later, Gee made it to her Mother's home in Brick. It was a nice home, small, comfortable, nothing like Gee and Frank's home, more like the house she grew up in, but somehow smaller and in better condition. 

In front of the house, a silver Jeep Cherokee with a few dents and scratches was parked, the windows and the roof of the car had been covered in leaves from the tree, and debris that the wind carried. She looked down at the address on her wrist, then at the numbers on the mail box, they matched, confirming that she was indeed at be right house. 

Before she went up to the door, Gee took five minutes to calm down and prepare herself for the confrontation, it might have involved a Marlboro Red cigarette and a few extra sprays of cologne to mask the odor. Her palms were sweaty and she felt as if there was something stuck in her throat, it had been the most anxious she had been in a long time, the last time she felt that, or at least that bad, was when she first experienced Braxton Hicks contractions, yet somehow this was worse than that. Her legs were wobbly when she stepped out of her car, like she had just been on a boat for hours and couldn't gain her balance back. 

With every step she took, Gee felt like she was going to puke, it wasn't nausea, but hundreds of butterflies in her stomach swirling around. The steps up to the front door were loosely installed, they wobbled as she walked up them. Then before she knew it, she was at the door, Gee took a deep breath as her shaky hand reached up to ring the door bell, the white, worn out button pressed in and she could hear a faint echo of the bell inside of the house, followed by the barking of a dog. Her heart beat a thousand beats per minute, the realization hit her that she would be faced with the mother that abandoned her at such a young age. 

The front door of the house was unlocked, then the door creaked open. An aged woman with shoulder-length, horribly damaged, bleach blonde hair, bubblegum lipstick, a lime green top and shorts answered the door, "Can I help you?" she asked. 

"Are you uh, Donna Rush?" Gee stuttered, voice shaky. 

"Who's asking?"

"My name is Geralyn Way. I'm her daughter, I think she lives here?" The moment that left Gee's mouth, the woman's expression softened and her eyes became glossy. 

"Geralyn?!" Donna gasped, she exited the home to pull Gee into a hug, startling the woman. Her arms were tight around Gee, her chin on her shoulder. The scent of cheap perfume and cigarette smoke flooded Gee's nostrils, almost making her gag. Donna pulled away from Gee with tears in her eyes, her cold hands held her daughter's face as she looked at her in awe, "You're so beautiful, and so grown up." 

"A lot changes in twenty-four years." Gee said in almost a snarky tone, but it was definitely a gab at Donna. It almost bothered her that Donna was so surprised, like she could've been there but she wasn't, it was all her fault that Donna missed out on her children growing up. 

"Come in, I'll make us a pot of coffee. Do you like coffee?" Donna asked, and Gee nodded. Donna held the door open for Gee, allowing her to walk inside of the home. Gee was met with a stench of cigarette smoke, with a scent of a cherry sangria candle intertwined. A chocolate lab ran up to her, the dog wore a green collar, the tags jingled as she ran. Donna introduced the dog as Caramel, the dogs name was Caramel. 

Caramel followed the women into the kitchen, she sat on the floor next to the kitchen table where Gee and Donna sat with cups of coffee, a bottle of Bailey's creamer on the table between them. The kitchen, as well as the common area, was in good shape, oddly surprising to Gee. 

"So, fill me in. What's going on with you?" Donna asked her, like she didn't receive updates from Donald over the course of Gee's life. The "small talk" kind of bothered Gee as well, she didn't know how to say some things to Donna, it was harder than Gee had thought. She didn't know wither to start with her marriage, the pregnancy, her dream job, or everything that she had done in the last twenty-fucking-four years that Donna was gone. 

"Where do you went be to start? When I was four until now? Or..." 

"Just, boil things down. That would take ages to get through." yeah, it would, I would know. Gee thought to herself. "Are you married? Divorced? Single?" 

"I'm married, have been for the last four years." Gee held out her left hand to show Donna, her rings sparkled in the sunlight that came in through the kitchen window. 

"What's his name? How long have you guys known each other? How did you meet? Sorry, I have over a million questions to ask you." 

"His name is Frank. We've known each other since senior year of college, so, like, seven years. We met at a party, I socked his girlfriend then I got booted out of the bar, it just kind of went on from there." her cheeks tinted pink at the thought of Frank, how she missed him, and what she would give for a hug from him. 

"Do you plan on having kids? Do you have any now?"

Gee looked at Donna with a quirked eyebrow, "I don't know if you noticed since it's barely noticeable, but I'm seven months pregnant. No- we don't have any kids yet." she said, a bit sarcastically. 

"When are you due? Do you know the gender?"

"June 11th, I have a C-section scheduled. Yeah, Frank and I know the genders, we're having two girls and a boy. Lillian Elena, Cherry Vanya, and Henry Francis." 

"My heavens, triplets?" Donna nearly choked on her coffee, out of all the things she expected Gee to say, that was definitely not one of them. "How did you end up with triplets? You and Michael aren't twins, and multiples aren't on either my side, or your father's side." 

"Uh huh. They're on Frank's side of the family, he has a twin brother, his other brother died during birth so it was just Frank and Anthony. Frank didn't hit me with that information until after Anthony spilled the secret, I still love them all, none the less."

"Can I see a photo of Frank? What about Michael, what is he up to?" 

"He's married, uh, he has a daughter on the way, and he just moved to California to be closer to his wife's family, there's not much but our Dad left in Jersey anymore. Frank's family is in Jersey, but we like Jersey. We don't call him 'Michael' anymore, we call him Mikey." 

"Aw, Mikey should know he has me and his father here." 

"How would he supposed to know that when we both believed that you died nearly thirty damn years ago, Donna?" Gee snapped at her, her eyebrows furrowed together in displease. She couldn't believe that Donna would even bring that up. 

"You don't have to call me Donna, you can call me Mom." she said cockily, a little offended by Gee's use of her name rather than the proper name. 

"Mom? Mom?!" Gee barked, "If anyone would be called Mom, it would be Grandma because she raised us when you left! I don't even know why you left, all I know is that you were a junkie and "crashed" your car while trying to get a quick fucking fix with the money that was for me and Mikey."

"Geralyn, I left your father and you kids because I couldn't be a mother. I lost track of priorities with drugs, you don't know what it's like when you're addicted. I faked my death because I didn't want you kids to grow up with a mother like me, I would've been terrible for you. Your father knew ever since you were in third grade, and he's kept me updated - for the most part, on you and your bother." 

"I don't know what it's like to be addicted?" The blood inside of Gee was boiling, "You wanna know how me and Frank met? I dated a junkie who kept me supplied with coke, weed, alcohol, and so many pain pills that I could've ran a fucking pharmacy out of my dorm. Frank found me on the side of the road because I couldn't even stand on my own, he thought I was dead. For two years after we met, I was an addict and a drunk, I didn't get help until I was this close to killing myself. My marriage with my husband was on the line because of me, I got clean for him because he's the greatest thing in my life, if I didn't sober up, I would be dead." 

"I didn't mean to offend you, I just didn't expect my daughter to have gone through something so horrible and debilitating. Are you still using?"

"Do I look like I'm still using? I'm about to be a mother, I swore to myself, and Frank that I wouldn't touch a drop of alcohol or even take pain medication. I can't even have an epidural during labor because even that is a risk for me to relapse." she snapped. "What about you, Mom? Are you still using, Mom?" 

"No, I'm not using anymore. I've been clean for six years." 

"Let me see your arm, tilt your head up." Gee sniffled, her eyes filled with hot tears. Everything that Donna had said set so many triggers for her. She needed to know that she was in a safe place.

"I don't think that's necessary. I don't use anymore, I wouldn't try to reach out to you if I was still using." 

"Then show me your fucking arm, I can't be around you if you're still using, I can't let all of that progress just be washed down the drain. I worked so fucking hard for that, you have no idea how hard detoxing is when you were an addict for nine years. Frank has to hide cough syrup and mouthwash because I am still a risk to relapse. I will always be a risk, even fucking powdered sugar makes me want to hit up my old dealer and get a gram of cocaine." Gee stood from her seat and reached out to grab Donna's arm, but the older woman flinched. "Donna, show me your arm." she said with a firm voice, staring into Donna's eyes. 

Donna looked up at her, then slowly folded up the sleeve of her shirt. Gee saw the needle marks on her arm and enlarged veins attached to them, they weren't scars, they were fresh wounds. 

"Is this what you stalked me for? Is this why you wanted me to find you? You sent cryptic messages to my house, gifts for my children, and stood outside of my house for God knows how long so I would find you. What was the purpose of that?!" She snapped at her mother, furious.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know that you were in an addict. I just wanted you and your brother back in my life, I haven't seen you guys in so long. You're my daughter, I need you in my life. The last time I said anything to you, you called me Mommy, you needed me, and I needed you. I want to be there this time for you, for my grandbabies, for Mikey and his family, I want to be able to restart."

"Why? So I can come home and see that my daughters are sharing a bottle of vodka and my son has a tunicate on his arm? You let Mikey and I play with glass bottles, you used to give me alcohol when I was teething. Don't you remember the time you took us to the pediatrician and the doctor called social services on us because you reeked of alcohol?" her face had turned red from the anger, she could've sworn that steam came out of her ears. "You faked your death. I don't even know how, Mikey, Dad, and I all went to your funeral! We had to watch your fucking casket being lowered into the ground." 

"Geralyn, if I could take all of that, I would. Not every mother knows what to do, and with two children, it's so much harder than you would think. You're about to be a mother to three newborns, you need help, without my help, you will make the same mistakes as me. It's in your blood, Geralyn, it's who you are, I can show you right from wrong, I can rewrite the wrong with my grandchildren." her voice was almost too calm. "It was a fiery car crash, the woman who caused the crash by running into the street was the one who died, but no one saw her, and I thought that escaping the car was my ticket out, her body was burnt so badly to the point where she couldn't be recognizable. Forensics couldn't test her DNA, so they would think it was me if I left soon enough, so I took a bus to Brick and stayed here. It wasn't planned, it just happened." 

"How could you do that to us? Dad nearly lost his mind trying to raise us and still cope with your "death.", Grandma stepped in to help us. I'm not like you, Donna, I will not leave my children like you did. I might've done shitty things in my past, but I won't hurt those children by leaving them." 

"You fucking need me, I know that you will end up like me. Once you're an addict, you're always an addict. NA and AA is bullshit, they're just people who are there to judge you and they get you to confess your dirty habits." Donna stood up and put her hands on Gee's shoulders, staring into her daughter's eyes. 

"Go to hell." Gee pushed her mother away, the older woman stumbled over her own two feet. "Don't contact me, do not come near my house, my husband, my children, or my brother and his family. if even I catch a whiff of your perfume, I will call the police. I've gone twenty-four years without you in my life, I can sure as hell go the rest of my life without you again. My children will not have a grandmother on my side of the family, Grandma Elena will be the only one they know, as for you, well, you won't exist in their heads. You are not my mother, you never wore, Grandma was my mother." 

"Don't say that, you wouldn't be here without me. You have this life because of me, I created your life." Donna followed Gee as she walked towards the front door. Gee opened the door and turned around to face Donna, her eyes red. 

"This will be the last thing that I will ever say to you. Please don't come near me anymore, if it takes moving to England for you to get off my back, then I'll move to England. I want nothing to do with you anymore, if you're going to continue to use and be a fucking junkie, I can't be around you because just being here, I'm really fucking close to drinking or doing a line because of you. Remember this, if you even step a foot into Belleville, I will know. Just go back to being dead, alright?"

"Geralyn-" Donna started, her eyes welled with tears. She reached out to grab Gee's arm as she walked away, but Gee pushed her away. "I'm your Mother!" She cried, her heart aching. 

"That's impossible!" Gee shouted as she shut the door on her car, the engine revving. "My mother has been dead for twenty five years. I'm sorry, Lady, you must have me mistaken for someone else."

Donna's heart broke when Gee said that, all she wanted was to reconnect with her daughter but the addiction to heroin just interfered once again. Donna didn't believe in A.A. or NA, it was a scheme that was put together by the Government to collect money off of people who suffered, she tried for a while, and it did absolutely nothing for her. She herself had a hard time believe that Gee was clean, once an addict, always an addict. 

Gee watched Donna fall to her knees in despair out of her side-view mirror, she could hear Donna's wails and cries of her name, she wanted her to come back but Gee didn't, she wanted no more to do with her mother. She went into the matter with a light heart and the best of intentions to get answers, but it was clear that Donna wasn't ever going to change. Donna blatantly insulted Gee and discounted all of the progress she had made by calling it a sham, no one is truly sober and they are doomed to relapse. For Donna to say that Gee will make the same mistakes that she once did, was a major blow to any confidence that Gee had built up before becoming a mother, she would risk everything to not become like Donna, but the things that Donna had said just infected her brain with things she didn't want there. 

Almost immediately after she left Donna's house, she pulled out her phone to try and call Frank because the urge to drink or get a quick fix just overwhelmed her, the dangerous territory just took over her and she was face with this unstoppable urge to use, she was very close to calling up a dealer she unfortunately remembered the exact number to, and she needed Frank to distract her enough until she made it to the church to help.

"Cmon Frank, please pick up." She grumbled to herself, the phone just kept ringing and ringing until his voicemail opened. Gee knew he was a busy, and he was bad at remembering to charge his phone sometimes, his phone could've died or he was knee deep in old corpses that just lingered there, or clearing out the stench of death so it would be bearable to work in. 

She didn't have Evan's number on hand, Frank must've written it down on the note but she didn't notice and threw the damn thing away already. In a way, she fucked herself and threw herself into a bear trap where she can't get out. She can't get out, Donna put this trap closer to her, waiting for her to step on it. 

Gee continued to try and call Frank, but he didn't answer. Gee cried when she couldn't get a hold of him, she felt like a ticking time bomb that could just go off at any time. The thoughts of what her mother said and the temptation to use clouded her mind, she pulled out that N.A. chip from her purse to remind herself to not use, because all of that progress would go down the drain. 

"Don't do it, you can't do it, not again." she mumbled to herself, the bronze chip tightly held into her hand. Her car was stopped in a parking lot of a supermarket near Donna's home, to avoid any sort of collision due to distraction. 

Internally, the addict and sober, clean woman inside of her fought for dominance. It was so hard to resist the devil and push the urge away, those marks on Donna's arm and the smell of alcohol on her breath was like putting a steak in front of a hungry dog, the temptation was nearly irresistible. With every urge she felt to use, she felt broken down and helpless, like she couldn't do anything to curb the feeling, not even that bronze chip or the pregnancy. She felt weak. 

The thoughts were so heavy on her like a marble on a wet paper towel, Gee gave into the temptation of using despite all of the progress she had made. Her thumbs dialed the number of her old dealer with hot tears in her eyes. She was weak, Donna was right, she was destined to fuck up and lose everything she has worked for. Her husband, her family, her job, and most importantly, her sobriety and the pledge to never touch even a crystal of cocaine. 

It was in Gee's blood, just like Mother said. 

"With the Grim Reaper  
should be enough to scare  
away any thought of relapse.  
Wish it were that easy,  
but not even days conversing  
with death can disintegrate  
the claws of addiction."


	31. Anthony’s Return

May 4th, 2010 | 30 weeks pregnant, 5 wks from the due date 

Three days had passed since Gee had met with her mother, from the moment she walked into that poorly built home that smelled of smoke and vanilla, everything spiraled downhill like a swirled staircase that went directly into hell with no chance of escape. The words that Donna said just echoed in her mind like a twisted lullaby that served no purpose than to hurt Gee and pull her down to rock bottom. She had seen it once before, and it scared the absolute hell out of her. It was her lowest point , on the edge of suicide, her liver hung on by a thread, it was the scariest thing she had gone through. 

Rock bottom was a place she never wanted to see again, she stared it in it's ugly face once before, and that was her sign to get her shit together and attend meetings to sober her up. Gee was so dedicated to sobriety that she got clean and sober in 11 days. In 11 days, she felt so horrible from withdrawal, convulsions, chills and hot flashes, vomiting, headaches, irritability, and a 12-Page list of other symptoms she had experienced, Gee became a woman that she didn't even recognize, and once she became sober, she promised herself that she would never face that woman again. That woman that reeked of alcohol, who had a raw, red, crystal dusted nose, was in her past. That was her rock bottom.

-  
Church bells rung throughout the forest that Gee and Frank often explored, after days of working to clean out the church, it was pristine and ready to be set up for the final shooting for the music video for Weighted. It took a lot of elbow grease to get the church into a presentable state before it was even close to being ready. Frank, his father, and various members of the band had helped out to get the church spick and span.

Frank wanted Gee to come, as he thought that she needed a little bit of a distraction, but ever since the calendar turned to May, she was instructed to remain on strict bed rest until the triplets were due to arrive, or when the day of her induction came about. He really wanted to be with her as he worked at the church, because ever since the meeting with Donna - which she had yet to explain to Frank, she had been acting quite odd. 

Gee herself was an odd woman, but the way she had been acting was not like herself. She seemed irritated, depressed, but then would have random bursts of energy where she felt like the energizer bunny, it was like an on and off switch for her. The medication for depression didn't seem to do the job it once did, coffee was bland, and cigarettes were just a waste of air and lighter fluid.

It was strange to see her that way, Frank knew that something bad must've happened at Donna's house, she wasn't ready to discuss it, but it was quite obvious that it was something bad that happened at the house. Frank wanted to help, he hated seeing Gee in the distressed state that she was in. He thought that going back to therapy would be a good idea, but she wasn't allowed to leave the home often, maybe they could figure out something where they could do something over the phone or Skype. A part of him was scared that Gee would deteriorate while he wasn't there, being alone with herself for nearly an entire month while he's off touring in England. 

With that in mind, Frank had arranged for a familiar face to fly down from Los Angeles to stay with Gee while he was gone. Anthony had been back in Los Angeles since New Years due to the work of his husband, Milo, and their son, Kyle, still needed to attend pre-school. Frank and Anthony still remained in regular contact since then, and with the triplets arriving very soon, Anthony planned on coming down anyway. While Milo wasn't able to come down to Jersey, Anthony and his adoptive son would be coming down to keep Gee company. 

Gee's mood was slightly lifted knowing that one of her best friends would be coming down and visiting for a while, but that did not lift the weight that weighed on her mind like cinderblocks tied to her ankles. She tried to drown herself in things like writing, drawing, or listening to some of her favorite music but she didn't feel like herself. She thought about going for a walk, as she did when something was on her mind, but doing that would increase her chances of going into preterm labor.

She didn't think that one quick little walk would do anything harmful, so she planned to go for one later that night, after Anthony showed up and settled in.She wanted to be able to see him before she left, in case that it would be the last time she would see him. Frank was due to pick Anthony and Kyle up from the airport within a few hours, after he and the band finished setting everything up in the church for Weighted video shoot.

Anthony was a kind man, very caring and shy, he was a lot like Frank but of course they had different quirks about them. Maybe that's why he and Gee clicked so well, and why he and Frank argued all the time as brothers - especially twins, fought all the time. When they argued, Gee thought that it was the funniest thing, they were like little boys when they fought, nitpicking and bothering each other to no end. Gee thought about her children arguing like that, and how she would've loved to have been able to see them grow up and be just like their father- so caring, smart, talented, and overall a perfect man. One day, she thought, One day Frank will be able to see that, just not with her or their children that wouldn't be.

-

Before Frank went to pick up Anthony from the airport, he took a quick pit-stop to the Iero home to freshen up as he was quite sweaty and dirty from being in the church. He brought Gee home an iced vanilla soy latte from their local coffee shop to boost her spirits more, she was found in their bedroom with a plate of fresh berries rested on her belly, she seemed to be a little happier than she had been, but it could've just been another part of the cycle she was on. 

"Hey, Darling. I got you a latte on my way home, I have to pick up Anthony in 20 minutes. He and Kyle just landed, so they're going to grab a quick bite." his voice was soft as he entered the bedroom, he walked over to the bed and sat her latte on her nightstand, next to her other coffee cups, bottles of medication, and prenatal vitamins. He kissed her nose and sat on the bed next to her, one hand on her thigh that was covered by their comforter. "How are you feeling, today? Should we get Dr. Cahill on the phone?"

"I...don't think so. I'm just kind of tired, uh, I have a lot on my mind. I think I might go for a walk later on, after dinner or whatever to clear my mind a little." her voice was lifeless, like everything that made her who she was, was just gone. Ever since she came home from Donna's home that night, she transformed into someone that Frank hardly could recognize. 

"You know that you can talk to me, Gee. You're my wife, I promised to support you throughout anything that life throws your way, whatever has been going on since you met with Donna has almost like, changed you. I don't know what happened, but like, I want you to know that I will do everything I can to help you when you're ready to tell me." his eyes looked into hers, trusting. Frank could tell that it touched her, her hazel eyes glassed over with a layer of salty, hot tears. A barrier she had put up had slowly broke down. 

She moved the saucer of fruit aside and reached her hand out to hold Frank's soft, tattooed hand. A tear slipped from her eye and down her cheek, Frank used his free hand to cup her cheek, his thumb wiped away the salty tear that dripped from her eye. 

"Frankie, you know I love you so damn much," her voice cracked mid-sentence. "I want to tell you what happened, but I just can't, it fucking hurts to hear her voice over and over in my head, and I'm terrified you'll hate me or you'll leave me after I tell you. You've been the best husband and I just don't want you to not be that anymore."

"Darling, it's okay. You can tell me what happened, I'm your husband, what we comes our way, we can tackle it together, that has been the same, it will never change. I want you to be okay." 

"Please don't hate me, Frankie." she muttered, lip quivering. 

"I couldn't hate you." His eyes were trusting and warm. "Just tell me what's goin' on, Jiggy, I want to help you." The fact that he had to pick up Anthony from the airport completely slipped his mind, but he would remember before it was too late.

Gee's hands were shaking terribly. She thought about what she could say or how she could say it - everything from start to finish just felt like a stake was being driven through her heart. She had to tell Frank, it was a secret that she couldn't keep from him, it was something that she had to tell him. She knew that she wasn't strong enough to do it on her own, but she didn't want Frank to be troubled with something like that right before he left for another country. 

Frank genuinely cared, he wanted Gee to be alright with even opening up to him. She was- this was just, a hard thing for her to open up about. It was a dirty little secret to her, and she would feel so overly exposed for even letting it out, but keeping it would do harm than good.

"She was using. Donna had needle marks on her arm - she reeked of alcohol, and then she - she told me that I didn't know what it was like to be an addict, and when I told her about the hell I went through, she told me that I'm doomed to turn out just like her. Donna said that it was in my god damn blood, I will be like her, once an addict, always an addict." Tears fell from her eyes, she could hear Donna's voice in her head so clear. "She told me that everything I worked for, sobriety, this life I have with you- will all go away, just like it did for her- and she's right. Frank, I'm a fucking addict. We have to hide certain things and I can't even get an epidural when I'm in labor because I'll just slip!"

"Gee, you aren't an addict. You haven't been for years, you are clean and all that you've done is work for sobriety and to keep yourself alive. The mouthwash and aftershave has to be hidden because you know that they're bad for you, you know that things are bad for you and you avoid them because you know what? you know that you will slip, you know what to do. You, Gee, are the strongest woman that I have ever met. You put yourself through hell to get sober, and you still are. Okay? Don't listen to Donna, she is nothing but a memory now."

"Frank, I'm not strong. I always want to use or drive to the liquor store and maybe never come back. Donna made me this way, and I don't want our children to turn our this way because I'm a fuck up, I'm an addict, Frank, it's who I was, and it's who I'll ever be. When I left Donna's house, I pulled into a random parking lot of a beat down store and I called my old dealer, got a bag of cocaine from him, and then I went to a liquor store and bought myself a nice, big bottle of scotch. I thought 'what's the point in being clean if my fate is to be someone like her?"

"Hold on, you bought a bag of cocaine? Gee.." his expression fell, he was disappointed in her - but he couldn't help but feel somewhat responsible for the matter because his damn phone died. He encouraged her to see Donna, he thought that it would be a good idea for her to get closure but because of that, Gee bought drugs and alcohol- he didn't know if she used, he was almost too scared to ask because if she would buy cocaine, there was a chance that she would've done a line or two.

Frank could tell that something changed once she said something - she didn't seem as in denial or on guard, she seemed even a lifeless bit relieved, but that didn't stop her from completely breaking down right in front of him. "Gee..did you use?"

"No, I didn't use. The fucking cocaine was tossed into the Atlantic Ocean, as for the scotch, you have a 'Good luck on tour' gift from me and the triplets." Gee sniffled, her eyes red from tears. "I'm so sorry Frank, I shouldn't have -"

"It's okay- but it's like, kind of not. You bought drugs but you didn't use them, I'm proud of that, you didn't use despite it being like, right there. Gee, you are strong, okay? That takes real strength to do, just, do you promise me that all of that is gone?"

"Yes, they're all gone. " her voice was low, her head hung in shame. "I'm so sorry."

"We can talk about this later, alright? I've got to go pick up Anthony from the airport." Frank sighed, he leaned over to kiss Gee. "I want you to know that I'm not upset, I'm here for you, and I love you so much."

"Thank you, Frankie. I love you more." Her hand held his, then Frank pulled her into a warm embrace. Her hands were on his back, his chin was on her shoulder and his own hands around her. They shared their warmth in a comforting moment. It was something she wouldn't forget, it touched her heart in a way that she couldn't explain. The moment was cut short as Frank's watch beeped, signaling that it was time for him to get to the airport to pick up his brother, and nephew. 

Frank pulled away from her, kissed Gee softly, and then turned to walk away and out of the room. Gee watched him leave with red, teary eyes, her heart ached as she watched him leave because she knew that she needed him still, just her and him. She didn't want to admit it, but she knew that she lied to Frank about the drugs, the cocaine was still in her car and the bottle of scotch was there as well. They had to get taken care of - before he found out the truth and got more upset, she also knew that she couldn't let Donna destroy everything she had worked for, Gee should've known better. 

With that in mind, Gee waited until Frank's car pulled out of their driveway and disappeared from her sight before she took any action. She went down to her car, pulled the bag of cocaine out and the bottle of scotch, took them to her backyard with the intentions of throwing them both into their trash, but she found a hole that a gopher or one of the dogs had dug. Something gave her the idea to stick the small bag of cocaine in the hole, and cover it up with a rock of the same size. Gee knew she didn't need it - but something wouldn't let her get rid of them, and that something was that woman she never wanted to see again, creep up behind her like a stalker in the night.

Filthy. She thought to herself. Storing the drugs wasn't a good idea, it would cause more harm than it could if it could cause any type of good- though, she did put the bottle of scotch on Frank's desk in office with a note that read "xo G, C, L, & H. We all love you very much." underneath it. 

In his office, Gee saw a suitcase, a duffel bag, and a relatively large backpack piled next to the door. It must've been all of his luggage for when he was due to leave again for tour, which was less than two weeks away and her heart still ached when she thought about him being away for so long. Anthony would be there, he was an exact copy of Frank, but he wasn't her husband. It was different, Anthony would just make her miss him more. More than she ever thought she could.

Gee thought about something. Since his bags were packed, she thought about sneaking a note into a bag with a photo from her latest ultrasound, something to fill that emptiness that would reside. So, she took a page from a notebook from her office, a copy of a photo of the babies, wrote a letter for Frank that expressed how she felt, how much she loved him, that she hoped he had fun in the UK, and she couldn't wait for him to be back home.

It almost made her cry, she was saying goodbye to him for nearly a month. The final month of her pregnancy that he wanted to be there for, but his career was very important too. So, she finished up the note that ended up being about two pages long, stuck it in the bag along with the ultrasound photo. Writing the note made her very emotional, Gee shed a few tears and her hand shook a little as she wrote the note, she rambled a little in the note as she typically did, which lightened the mood a bit, but it didn't take all of the attention away. On the front of the note, she wrote "Frankie" with a heart over the "I" in his name. 

After the note was written and put in his bag, Gee went back up to her and Frank's shared room to freshen up a little before Anthony was due to arrive. She dressed in a pair of black sweat-shorts, and a black and white stripped shirt that happened to be maternity. Underneath the shirt, she wore this strange contraption that supported her belly since it was at the size it was, it helped with back pain and the weight of her stomach just weighing her down. Changing her clothes and cleaning up almost made her feel human again - somewhat normal, more than she had been for quite some time.

Waiting for Frank and Anthony to come back, Gee waited on the couch of their living room with Mitch and the dogs. The grey tabby purred as she held him in her arms, her hand scratched behind his soft little ears. Sweetpea and Mama rested on the couch, Mama laid on her back as she slept, while Sweetpea was curled into a ball. Gee had a chilled glass of ice water next to her, as the summer heat slowly picked up and combined with the constant flashes of heat she experienced. For once, she felt okay, something was on her mind other than Frank leaving for tour or her damn mother.

About an hour past before she heard Frank's car pull into the driveway. Braxton Hicks contractions picked up within that hour she waited. Gee peered our the window and saw her husband, her brother-in-law, and nephew all emerge from the car. Anthony and Kyle each had a suitcase, Kyle's was smaller and had a dragon on the front, while Anthony's was just red. Anthony looked great, he had gotten his hair cut and a new tattoo was on his arm, it was a heart with his husband, and son's initials. 

Gee quickly waddled over to the door, opened it and greeted the men with a warm heart. 

"Auntie Gee!" Kyle exclaimed, he dropped his luggage in their lawn to run up to Gee. He tried to hug her but his little arms couldn't wrap around her belly. 

"Hey, Gee! My god, did you grow a watermelon since I last saw you?" Anthony giggled as he walked up to the porch, a gentle smile on his face. The baby bump was more than noticeable. 

"Yeah. Something like that." She shook her head at him, then pulled him into a hug. The cologne seeped into her nostrils. "I'm just growing tiny humans, slowly but surely they'll run out of room."

"Then you'll pop like a balloon." Anthony said, and Gee grimaced at the thought of a balloon popping- or just balloons in general. 

"Why don't we get you set up in the guest room, yeah?" Frank interrupted and led the others into the home. "I'll start dinner shortly."

"What's on the menu?" Anthony asked. He kicked off his Nike sneakers into the pile of other shoes. 

"Veggie burgers; with pickle boogers, my specialty. Served with a heaping helping of 'no fucks given' and french fries."

"Hey! No swearing, my son his here." He gasped, quickly covering Kyle's ears with his hands. Frank only laughed in response, ignoring the fact that he swore around a 4-Year old that could easily pick up the profanity. Frank just went on his way to take their luggage to the guest room. He left Gee, Anthony, and Kyle down in the foyer. 

Anthony suggested that they all went into the living room, so Kyle could rest a little bit as they just landed from a 5- Hour flight from Los Angeles. Throughout the flight, he was quite restless and there was only so many bags of goldfish a child could eat on that long of a flight. 

"Gee, are you okay? What's happening?" Anthony caught her holding onto the banister tightly, she held her breath and was slightly hunched over. He noticed her not following them into the living room, but instead began acting strange. 

"It's just a contraction, I'll be fine." she groaned, trying to breathe through the painful contraction. 

"I'm sorry, a contraction?! Gee, you're in labor." he said, starting to panic. "Frank, Frank! Gee's in labor! Get down here, we have to get her to the hospital."

Gee tried to tell him that she was not in labor, but Anthony only silenced her. Frank's footsteps could be heard running from the guest room, through the hallway, and down the hardwood stairs, he nearly slipped on his socks and fell down the stairs. 

"Did her water break?" Frank asked, he looked at Gee with sheer panic in his eyes. After all, she was at a high risk of going into labor. 

"I don't think so, but she's having contractions." 

"Gee, are you okay?" 

"Yes, they're just Braxton hicks, I'm not in labor." she panted, the pain subsided slowly. "I tried to tell Anthony but he kind of panicked." 

"Dumbass." Frank scoffed and gave Anthony a strange look, 

"Then what are Braxton hicks? She said that she's having contractions. I don't know if you've noticed but I did not give birth to my son, nor do I have a vagina." Anthony huffed, crossing his arms.

"Practice contractions, to like, get her body prepared and stuff for real labor. Apparently when she goes into real labor; her water is gonna break, so like, that's a major difference." Frank explained, and Anthony sort of understood, but was still confused about what the water aspect was, he could ask Gee or do a quick search on his phone.

With that aside, Frank left again to go back upstairs, he was putting the finishing touches on Anthony and Kyle's room, as the boys would be staying there for a while. Anthony even offered to stay a little extra to help with the triplets after they're born, which would certainly help in the long run, so they both greatly appreciated Anthony's offer. 

Gee, Anthony, and Kyle all went into the living room where a cartoon was turned on for the child, he sat between Gee and Anthony, but rested on his father. Mitch laid on Gee's belly, curled up in a ball and purred as the lady gently stroked his soft grey fur.

Sponge bob played on the television in front of them, Gee didn't quite understand what was going on because it was about a sea sponge, when the only cartoons she watched were old Looney Tunes or something to that effect, but her nephew seemed to enjoy it very much.

Frank joined the party after an episode, he plopped down on the couch by Gee with a ice cold bottle of WBC Root Beer. Frank was fascinated by the cartoon, he and Kyle were quite invested in the show and was almost absorbed into it. 

"Hey, Gee, I-I don't know if you and Frank are keeping it a secret until they're born, but like, do you know what you're having?" Anthony tapped her on the shoulder, a very important question came to mind. Somehow he had completely forgotten to ask Frank on the drive back to the home, or over the phone. Seeing Gee in her overly pregnancy state must've triggered his memory. 

"Yeah, we do, two girls and a boy. Lillian Elena, Cherry Vanya, and Henry Frank. We kind of chose names that had some importance to us, y'know?" she smiled slightly as she listed the names of her unborn children to Anthony, a glimmer of hope flashed in her eyes.

"Wait, you're having a boy?!" Anthony gasped in excitement, a smile crept onto his face at the thought of having a nephew. "Holy crap, I'm going to have a nephew, and two nieces!" 

"Daddy, what does that mean?" Kyle asked, his attention was snatched away from SpongeBob by Anthony's excitement. 

"That means you're going to have three cousins! Auntie Gee is having a boy, and two girls, you get to play with them when they're born." 

"Where are they?" the boy asked, curious. 

"In her tummy, that's why it looks like there's a watermelon under her shirt."

"Are all babies born like that? Was I inside your tummy, or Papa's?" 

"Yes, they are, and no you weren't. You came from a very special place, kiddo." Anthony tried his hardest to explain it without giving away the fact that Kyle was adopted as a baby, but his immature mind didn't understand what Anthony meant by 'Special place'. 

"Oh, but how did they get in a tummy? Did that funny bird put them there?" 

"Bud..." Anthony sighed, and Gee and Frank watched and anticipation, waiting to see how that conversation would go. "Can we talk about this when Papa is around?"

"No, I wanna know now! How did the babies get into Auntie Gee?" Kyle whined, his cute little face just begged Anthony for some sort of explanation to this thing he just didn't understand. 

Anthony looked at the other two on the couch, hoping that they would chime in with a reasonable explanation that a four-year old would understand, but they simply just did not have one that would prevent the "Birds and The Bees" talk. 

"Well, you see, Uncle Frank - he uh, he and Auntie Gee like, kissed with their bodies and then one of her eggs and Uncle Frank's uh, cells created three babies. They grow inside of her, kind of like a cupcake in the oven, it grows and grows until it's time for them to be taken out." He tipped toed through the conversation, just barely. 

"Egg? Like the kind from a chicken's butt?"

"Uh, no. It's a special cell that a woman has that can make a baby, men have special cells too."

"Oh, from their penises." Kyle said, and those in the room nearly choked from theb vulgar word that came from the four year old's mouth. Frank thought that it was hilarious, he laughed at the word, while Anthony tried his hardest to not laugh.

"Yeah, uh, why don't you go and find the dogs, yeah?" Anthony changed the topic, feeling quite uncomfortable. The boy jumped down from the couch to find the animals, somewhere in the house they rested and it was the boy's job to find them.

Frank figured it was time for dinner, so the three of them went into the kitchen. Anthony poured himself a glass of scotch on the rocks, he and Gee sat at the kitchen table while Frank washed vegetables at the sink. Kyle could be heard running around the house with the dogs, Sweet pea and Mama barked and chased him around. 

"Like, Milo and I are in the process of like, teaching him about bodies and stuff so he's been running around our house screaming 'penis!', and 'vagina!"

"You're teaching your son about the female body? Wow, guess you aren't as gay as I thought you were."

"Actually, Milo is, he's been with a woman or two before, so he knows way more about the female anatomy. I would love to keep it that way, thanks." he groaned, grimacing at the thought of the female body. He had nothing against women, he loved them, but the body and what they had just didn't appeal to him. 

"Speaking of him, what's he up to? Still working for Brazzers?"

"Not funny, asshole." Anthony said, throwing a balled up napkin at Frank. "He actually just started production on this new movie, I can't say much about it yet, but it's fucking amazing. We were just talking about it and when it premiers, we're gonna fly you guys out for the premier. Like, he's aiming to have it finished by Spring." 

"That's fuckin' rad, man. I'll be sure to mark our calendars for the premier, you know we'd never miss that."

"Gee, you good? You're like, in a totally different dimension right now." the twin asked, he waved his hand in front of Gee's face to catch her attention. 

"Oh, yeah, there's just a lot been going on. Y'know, with the triplets arriving soon, Frank leaving for tour in like, a week and a half. I don't think Frank and I have ever gone more than like, a week without seeing each other, even when he was still dating Jamia." she picked at her nails as she talked, her foot tapped on the tile of their kitchen. 

"Cheer up, kiddo, Frank will be back soon from tour, and in the mean time, I'll be here to keep ya company. I think you and him will be great parents, even though Frank's sort of a dumbass sometimes." he nudged her with his elbow, hoping to cheer her up a little. "Let's make the most fun out of Frank being here, even though you're kind of secluded to your bed, we'll still have some fun, movie nights, arts and crafts, shit to pass the time, y'know?"

"Thanks, Anthony." she smiled softly, she brushed a piece of her hair behind her ear. "I think that I am going to lie down, these babies are kickin' up a storm in here."

"Aw come on, stay with us! The party is just getting started." Frank almost whined, a zucchini in his left hand, he looked over at it and his cheeks turned red. "Oh- it uh, doesn't involve this, we're eating it- with our mouths." 

"I have to take care of some things for work, Claudia needs a few pages to review before Friday. I'll be down when dinner is done. I think you and Anthony should like, catch up a little, y'know?" she groaned as she tried to get out of the chair, her big belly just got into the way of that. 

Frank and Anthony couldn't force her to stay down there, even though they would surely love her company. She left the kitchen with a tall glass of cranberry juice while the boys remained in the kitchen, preparing dinner. Gee passed Kyle in the hallway, he was on the floor with is legs crossed, playing with the two dogs. It made her think about Henry, her son that had yet to be born, and that one day she would see him do that. Thinking about being a mother reminded her of Donna and the wicked things she said, once an addict, always an addict. 

No. She shouldn't think like that, she needed to look back at all of that progress she had made within the last five years of her life, Donna cannot ruin that, she can't ruin Gee's life anymore than she already had. Gee shook her head and carried on to her office, drawing and writing scrips would distract her mind just for a little. The double doors to her office were closed and locked, the fireplace was lit and a fresh cup of coffee was brewed from the coffee machine next to her couch. 

Gee sat at her comfortable, black faux leather, swivel chair at her desk with a pair of glasses that resembled Harry Potter's on her face. A notebook was right beside her on her desk, while she had the script pulled up on her computer. Writing came easily for her, it was a very nice distraction from the things that were on her mind. Frank wasn't really able to ease any of that anymore, of course she trusted him and felt safe, but with him leaving for tour soon, talking to him kind of hurt because it reminded her how he would be gone very soon. She knew he would be back, he wasn't leaving forever, but it was going to be hard to adjust to life without her best friend by her side. 

-

As the night progressed, Gee continued to work on her comic until Frank called time for dinner. Frank and Anthony had prepared a dinner that was full of vegetables and not even a speck of meat or dairy, it was one of Gee's favorite meals. Despite that being the case, and her being very pregnant, she just couldn't find the appetite to eat anything. She picked at her food with her fork and sipped at her water, Frank didn't take offense - he chalked it up to be nerves, nausea, or a combination of both. 

After the dishes were done and the food was put away, they all relocated to their backyard. Gee sat on their porch swing with Mitch by her side, while the boys played in the yard. They chased each other, wrestled, and played around like a bunch of immature boys. Frank and Anthony ended up being the only two going after each other while Kyle watched, the little boy laughed and cheered Anthony on, chanting a 'Get Uncle Frank, Daddy!" as he watched them. 

Frank had Anthony pinned down, he sat on the twin's legs to prevent him from getting up. Frank's hands were on Anthony's hands, arms held down on his chest as Anthony laughed, he could barely get any words out without laughing. Frank made faces at his brother, stuck his tongue out, ruffed up his hair, and pinched his nose. Gee watched them and giggled, they were like children, immature little boys fighting but in the cutest way. Then Kyle jumped onto Frank's back and wrapped his little arm around Frank's neck, not tightly, but to pull him off of Anthony. Frank flipped over to tickle the boy, sending him into a fit of giggles as he squirmed from underneath Frank. 

Watching them play reminded her of how Frank would be with their son. It seemed that with Kyle being around, it made her think of their unborn son and how things would be once he was born. Gee knew that Frank would've been an amazing father, he was so caring, humble, and smart, but the only question she had was if she was going to be a good enough mother to their children. Donna's words entered her mind again, Gee thought she would disappoint those children like her mother disappointed her and Mikey. Mikey though, he was blossoming, Rowan was born about a week earlier, he was in the time of his life while Gee was just knocked down by Donna, who Mikey didn't even know was still alive and only a few hours away. 

Frank, oh, he would be better off without her, she thought. Frank wouldn't have to worry about her relapsing, coming home drunk off of scotch or a few too many drinks at the bar, a cocaine dusted nose or copious amounts of marijuana in her system with piss dirtier than a sewer. Frank was an incredible man, he deserved the absolute best in the world and Gee, well she didn't think of herself like that, Frank certainly had someone better out there for him. Jamia, maybe, Jamia might've been The One That Got Away, but that did not mean that Gee did not love him. Gee loved Frank more than she had ever loved anything, more than she thought she could ever love something, so she knew Frank deserved someone better than her, someone better than a filthy junkie that's destined to slip up and fall back in love with the dangerous substances. 

Later that evening, with that on her mind and her choice made up, while Frank and the boys watched a movie down in the living room, Gee wrote her husband a note. The note that explained her choice for leaving, Frank would be able to find their children, but not her, at least not for a while. That night before bed, Frank and Gee had sex, they had sex for what Gee assumed to be the last time she would be able to touch him in that way. The knowing that sexual encounter would be their last, or what she thought, brought her to tears because she knew she wouldn't stop loving him, but what she had come to terms with was the best choice for the five of them. Gee reminded Frank of how much she loved him, throughout all of the years they've been together, and that she would never stop loving him. She didn't tell him that she was planning on leaving, that way he couldn't stop her. For once in her life, Gee felt unstoppable.


	32. What Does All Of It Mean?

\- 

may 6th, 2010 | > 5wks from due date

With nine days until tour was due to begin, Frank still had plenty of things to get in order before he was able to leave New Jersey. He had an interview with a magazine company for alternative music, the video shoot for Weighted was quickly approaching, a few meetings with his tour manager and the record label was scheduled, and he had some final preparations to do with Gee before the triplets were supposed to arrive. It was stressful for him, all of these things that suddenly popped up in his life right before tour, but he could handle it.

Anthony and his son, Kyle, had arrived in New Jersey a day prior to be there for Frank, Gee, and the babies that had yet to be born. Anthony also was there to keep an eye on Gee while Frank was gone, as Frank would be gone for tour for a while, though he certainly did not mind staying there. It was good for him and his son, as his husband was constantly away for work, so it was a good time to go on a little trip back to his hometown for a few weeks. When he arrived at the Iero household, he noticed that something was off with Gee, she wasn't the typical bright, happy woman she was when he was around, she was more grey than she usually was. 

He assumed that it must've had something to do with her pregnancy and the stress of becoming a mother to not one, but three babies in just a few weeks time. Over a drink with Frank the evening prior, he asked Frank if things were alright with her because of her odd, standoffish behavior, Frank didn't want to say something about Gee's mother because no one else knew that she was alive, let alone Anthony. Frank never lied, he was a genuine, honest man that his father made of him, but he had to tell Anthony something that wasn't because of her mother or the recent purchase of drugs, so he told Anthony that she was stressed out due to work and the babies. So, Anthony's best friend instincts kicked in and he devised a plan to help Gee out - both he and Frank did, his plan started with bringing up a chilled glass of her favorite juice, and a bowl of her favorite snack as she worked in her office. 

Frank, after a night ending in sex that was long overdue, held Gee close and told her that she would be fine, and he would be there for her no matter what. Gee couldn't help but weep at his words, they all went straight to her numb heart and brought pain back, sharp pain shot through her heart with every word he said. Gee knew she didn't deserve him, she was an addict and was destined to fuck up and be so close to death again, she cared about and loved Frank so much, so much that she needed to leave before he had to see her tip toe on the edge of death again. He deserved better than her. 

-

"It's really nice to have you here, Frank. Thank you for joining us here in the studio." The woman with pin-up blonde hair, named Claire, smiled as she neatened the stack of papers on the table in front of her. 

"Thank you for having me, I've been a huge fan of this magazine since I was a teenager." Frank smiled, he had a microphone in his hand and his legs were crossed. He was dressed in a pair of blue jeans, a jean jacket and a System Of A Down shirt underneath the jacket. Frank sat on a red leather couch in the studio, he and Claire each had a microphone, a camera - a rather large camera 

"Recently, you've released a studio album, Stomachaches. The sound is so unique and the lyrics are so poetic, it's truly unlike anything that we've heard in recent years, since 24-Hour Revenge Therapy by Jawbreaker. Could you tell me a little bit about the inspiration, or story behind the album?" 

"24-Hour Revenge Therapy has been one of my favorite albums for like, 15 years. It's just one of those albums that are so inspiring, and uh, during my years in high school and into college, that was like, the best album. A few of the songs, like, All I Want, She's The Prettiest Girl, and Where Do We Belong were actually written when I was in my late teens, early twenties." he explained. 

"When I first met my wife, I met her at some rinky-dink bar down in New Jersey, my band and I were playing there, one of our first ever gigs at an actual bar. My ex-girlfriend and I got into a fight after the show and my wife, she stumbled over and cracked her in the side of her face, in that moment I knew that I wanted her to be my wife - not my ex, but Gee. That event in time inspired She's The Prettiest girl. All I Want had come from a dark time, uh, my wife and I had separated because we just didn't see the same stars, but I knew that I wanted to be with her, I didn't want anyone else but her, and I knew I wouldn't be fine unless I had her. Joyriding, well, that one was written last year, it's about me scaring the shit out of my wife when I had no idea what I was going to do with my life, I recently quit my job, I was struggling to put this band together - let alone make an album, I wanted to be the best dad and husband there was and I didn't know how to do it. My wife has been such a huge part of this for me, she has been an inspiration and the reason behind this." 

"That's really sweet if you think about it. I guess having that aspect of love, and heartbreak can bring more meaning to songs. Analyzing the lyrics, especially Stage 4: Fear Of Trying and Guilt Tripping, they tell themes of heartbreak and feeling like you don't belong, would that have anything to do with your wife?"

"Well, not exactly, a lot of it is about personal struggles that I've dealt with. Stage 4: Fear of Trying was written about this time in my wife and I's lives that wasn't the greatest, It - to me, feels like a song about facing fears and getting over them, but they're never completely gone, regardless of how good things are going." he talked with his hands as most Italians do, his voice was soft. "Stomachaches kind of has those kind of themes laced through them."

"As of right now, do you have any plans on making a second album, or an EP of some sorts?" Claire asked.

"Not at the moment. Once this leg of tour ends, I'll be taking a break musically for a little while. I would love to do another one, but it might be some time before that happens and I'm really okay with that." he said, the triplets and Gee on his mind. 

"Ah, that brings me to my next question. Recently, you've posted on your Instagram page announcing your wife's pregnancy, do you believe that her pregnancy and the arrival of your baby will change your perspective on music?"

"Babies, uh, she and I are expecting triplets. Since we found out that we would become parents, my whole perspective changed on life, love, and music, so definitely, I know that once I meet them and actually experience being a father, something will change."

"As in maturity? What I mean is, do you think you'll be more mature?"

"No." he giggled, cheeks turning red. "C'mon, my wife is the mature one here, I'll always be a child at heart, regardless if I'm a parent or not." 

Frank saw him as the type of person that physically was incapable of being mature. Sure, he owned a house, a car, and just began the exciting career of being in the music industry - he could be mature when it mattered. 

The interview continued with basic questions, "Where do you like to tour the most?", "What inspired you to become a musician?", "Favorite part of being a musician?", all of those types of questions he was asked. Frank was happy during the interview, he thought it was really cool that someone even wanted to do one, even though he had done a few previously but for his favorite magazine company? it was surreal and very exciting. Talking about Gee warmed his heart, in his mind he prayed that she was doing just fine. After the interview concluded, Frank and Claire took a photo or two together, and then he left the studio. 

The next step was for Frank to head over to the church to begin filming Weighted, but was going to pick up lunch for the crew on his way there. He tried to call Gee on his way, but her phone went straight to voicemail - must've either turned it off, or died. Next was Anthony, to check up on him and to see how things were going back at the house. He was quick to answer, Kyle could be heard in the background, playing with the barking dogs. 

"How are things at the house? Did you remember to feed the pets?" Frank asked, his phone sandwiched between his shoulder and the side of his head. 

"Things are good, Kyle and I just finished up breakfast - as did the pets. I tried to wake up Gee, but she wasn't in the bedroom and her office door was locked, I couldn't hear anythin' coming from her office, like, keys typing or music. I did however slide a napkin under the door with her pre-natal vitamins so she remembered to take them." 

"You better not have touched my Boo Berry cereal, everything else is up for grabs, just not the Boo Berry. I think she's probably sleeping, she hasn't been able to recently because of the pregnancy, she might've just crashed or something, plus she's been working real fucking hard on her comics, when she does that, she usually spends the night in there. If she doesn't come out in like, two hours, you can unlock the door. There's a extra set of keys between my mattress and box spring for like, emergencies, I think they're labeled and shit." he explained. "When you talk to her, could ya tell her to call me around four? I'll be in a video shoot for a few hours so like, I won't have my cell." 

"Definitely. For dinner, I was thinking we could do pizza, I heard that there's this amazing vegan pizza place down the street and was all I could think about on my way here. Surprisingly, or at least the area I live in, the vegan pizza in California tastes like asshole."

"How the fuck would you know what asshole tas- oh, right. That's fine with me, order it and I'll pick it up on my way back to the house. Shit, I have to go, sorry man."

Frank had to end the call, as traffic was picking up and he certainly did not want to get into a car crash, or pulled over by some fat New Jersey cop that spends his mornings drinking shitty gas station coffee, and dunking stale, cold donuts into said coffee. Frank simply had no time for that, not that day at least. 

-

The Iero home was quite, Gee had still not come out from her office but it had not been two hours yet, so Anthony decided to just wait it out for another hour or so. He took that time to teach his son basic vocabulary that Kyle needed to work on, he had a pack of flash cards in his suitcase brought specifically for that. Anthony and his son sat at the kitchen table, Kyle had a glass of apple juice next to him, while Anthony sat across at the table. 

Anthony tried to not be too loud so he could listen for Gee, foot steps, doors opening, floor creaks, talking, something - anything. He tried to not think too much of it. He focused used on his son until it was time to worry about Gee, but he had absolutely no reason to believe that she wasn't alright. 

-

Back at the church, Frank worked to finish setting up and to get ready for the shoot. He dressed himself in a very nice suit, black with a white shirt and a black tie. A makeup artist used a dark shadow underneath his eyes to give him the appearance of a corpse, sunken in eyes, pale lips, and a thin face. His hair was styled neatly, his suit was wrinkle free as he laid in the freshly cleaned casket. Frank's hands were folded on his crotch, eyes closed and his face relaxed, like he was pretending to sleep. 

The boy - named Jack, had just been made up in his costume. Long sleeved shirt, jean vest with only a single pink pin with Frank's logo in the middle, his cute face had freckles, beautiful ocean blue eyes and curly blonde hair, Jack was only about 11 years old but he knew what he was doing. The other boys, Zach, Ryan, Jesse, and Benjamin were all dressed like they lived in the 1980's, vests, shorts, hats of various styles, and had their own bikes for the opening sequence. A sign outside of the clean church said,

"Gradyville Funeral Home (est. 1932)"

Frank Anthony Iero Jr. 1981 - 2010

Wake: 2PM - 7PM | Burial: 9AM

The scene inside of the church was gorgeous, everything was cleaned and polished, crosses and candles decorated the area near the casket, bouquets of roses on either end of the cherry wood casket that Frank laid in. The church was empty except for Frank, no pastor, family, or friends were in there, just a corpse of a man. 

On the side of the set where they could not be seen, sat many gruesome props. Fake intestines, a heart, an arm, and a severed head that looked exactly like Benjamins, everything was coated in a thick layer of left over blood from the Joyriding music video. In the back of the church - outside where there was a large area of grass, there had been a six-foot grave dug for Frank, a tarp was placed over it to prevent anyone falling In. 

Frank and the band had hired a professional camera crew to have a better production on that video, as it was much larger than Joyriding in many ways. Frank had the sketches that Gee made as for the screenplay, on hand at all times during the shoot so he and everyone else had some sort of plan. 

The opening scene of the video was planned to be the boy, Jack, to sneak into the funeral home to stick that shiny pink pin onto the suit of Frank's. A few takes of that scene had to be done because Frank was either poked by the needle, he giggled, or Jack struggled in some way. The other boys waited in position outside, their bikes parked just outside. 

Then it would go into the next scene, the boys would all ride their bikes down the street and into a part of the woods where they couldn't been seen, planning their own burial of Frank's body. Then, the next scene would be where the boys would sneak into the funeral home, steal Frank's corpse, wrap him in some sheets, and drag his body out to the grave that had been built. All of the boys covered his corpse in the soft dirt of the ground, then the members of the band would come out in what seemed like white pajamas. Frank did not have a stunt double, so those boys had to actually drag him out of the casket, wrap him in a sheet, and drop him down on the ground so he would definitely wake up with a few bruises in the morning.

Intestines were used for jump rope, a leg, an arm, and a head were torn off of the boys, and Jack's beating heart was ripped out of his chest by an undead Frank that rose from the grave that had been dug. Frank and the band had a oddly fun time dismembering the children during the shoot, Frank felt like a child jumping rope - even though it wasn't rope, but a fake large intestine. Benjamin's head was kicked off like a foot ball, held in place by Evan. That scene itself did take a few extra takes because someone either got hit, or Frank tripped over the intestines. However, they managed to get the video done, it did run about two hours later than they were expecting. 

The band and the crew reviewed the footage of the music video, and found that it was perfect, exactly how Frank wanted it to turn out. It still needed to be edited before it was allowed to be posted, but they were expecting to have it posted by the end of June after all of the editing and final details. Lunch was immediately after they reviewed the footage, they had a few drinks, ate good food, and celebrated the creation of the second music video for Stomachaches, the only one left was for She's The Prettiest Girl, but that one would be filmed while they were on tour. 

The crew would stay behind to clean up the church, even though Frank offered to take care of it when the band; they just insisted on doing so. The children's parents came to pick them up, so Frank didn't leave until after he knew that they were picked up safely and some creep didn't snatch them off of the street.

Frank left the site of the music video happy, he was happy that he was able to get the opportunity to do something like that - the 13 year old inside of him beamed with excitement, his dream was finally coming true. He wished Gee was there, he knew that she would've loved the gruesomeness of the video, but he could just show her clips even thought it wasn't quite the same.

When he got into his car, he saw that he had about three missed calls from Anthony and a few texts. It seemed that he was in a panic, it gave Frank an unsettling feeling in his gut, something was wrong. Typically Anthony didn't bother Frank like that, well it wasn't "bothering", it was more trying to get his attention. Frank quickly called Anthony back as he pulled out of the parking space, his phone on speaker. 

"Frank?" Anthony's voice came through the phone. 

"Yeah. Sorry that it took us longer than expected - we had a few hiccups along the way, but everything is done. How's Gee? I didn't see a message from her or a call from her." 

"Uh, about that. I unlocked her office and she wasn't in there, there was a note on her desk with your name on it - I didn't open it because of that, so like, I think you should come home. I know she's supposed to be on bedrest, she's not anywhere else in the house and her car is gone. I checked the garage." Anthony sort of stuttered, he was worried about Gee's sudden disappearance. 

"Fuck, I'll be home soon. Is her phone in her office, or on her nightstand?" 

"Yeah, it's on her desk but I think it's on silent, or turned off." 

"Son of a bitch." Frank muttered. "This isn't good. Keep watch until I get home, don't call 911, we can handle this."

"What's going on? Is she alright?" 

"I don't know. Fuck, this really isn't good. Just, meet me at the house and we'll figure something out, alright?" worry set in. Frank knew that something wasn't alright, Gee had done something like this once before many years prior, around the time she and Frank's marriage was slowly crumbling, but she came back. Frank knew that this was because of what happened with her mother, but for her to just leave without warning and when Frank thought that he could help her, was out of character. 

Frank hung up the phone and tossed it to the passenger side of the car, he knew that he had to get home quickly to think this through otherwise, Frank didn't know if he would be able to find Gee, she must've left throughout the night and God knows where she could've gone in those 12+ hours. Something inside of him thought she might've gone to her Dad's house, back to her Mother's, or she could've hopped on a plane to California to see Mikey, Kristin, and the new baby. Gee could be absolutely anywhere. Being that she was nearly 9 months pregnant with triplets, it was very dangerous for her whereabouts to be unknown. 

-

Frank almost raced back to the home, it was quite surprising that he wasn't pulled over because of his speed. New Jersey cops genuinely couldn't give a shit, not unless someone was in legitimate danger, they couldn't care less about some man going a few miles over the speed limit. After parking in front of the home, he couldn't get out of the car quick enough - he locked the car, shoved his keys iknto the pocket of his jeans, and ran up to the front door. 

He looked around for Anthony, the twin was found in the kitchen with Kyle on his lap, eating a sandwich. Anthony nearly jumped out of his seat when he saw Frank, each twin looked equally as worried. 

"Where is the note? You said that Gee left a note." was the first thing Frank said to Anthony, his eyebrows furrowed with worry. 

"Yeah, it's uh, it's on her desk in her office. It's like, propped up like a place card. It has your name on it." Anthony explained, his hands still held onto his son. 

Frank quickly left the kitchen, he ran up the steps and into Gee's office. It felt cold and empty, unlike it always did when she was there, there was life in that room and it was all gone. Her couch in there was empty, the room itself was cleaned like no one had ever been in there. It hurt Frank's heart to see that, the life was absolutely gone from that room. His attention was caught by the letter on her desk, his name written in her neat handwriting. He picked it up, sat in her chair, and opened it up, his heart sank to the bottom of his stomach just from the beginning. 

"Frankie -

I'm sorry that it's come to this, I'm not strong enough anymore. After meeting with Donna, I knew who I truly was - an addict. I will always be an addict, no matter what treatment I go through, rehab, detox, AA or NA meetings, it's all bullshit. I love you too much for you to see me like this, I know I will not be a good mother to our children, I will just let them down by fucking up like Donna did. She's right, Frankie, all I am- or all that I ever will be, is an addict, it's in my blood and I can't escape that. All of that progress that I've made, or how clean I've been, doesn't matter anymore. Please don't try and find me, it's better for you and our children that I'm not there. You will find our children, I'll make sure that someone at the hospital will contact you. Darling, find your happiness with someone that isn't filthy, you deserve someone that isn't a junkie. Life is a bag of shit, I can't keep going like this, once the babies are born, it will be the last thing that I'll do because I cannot keep living like this, a fucked up junkie. I'll go out the way I came into this world : hooked on drugs that keep me warm at night. This isn't your fault, Frankie, you were the best thing for me, thank you for everything you've done for me, since the first day that we were together, until the last. I love you. 

Love, Gee. 

Frank's worried eyes read over the note, every word he read, he felt a sharp pain in his heart. He didn't know what it meant, was it a suicide note? a divorce note? a goodbye letter? or all three? none of them were good outcomes, but Frank had to find her soon. He didn't know where she could've gone, probably somewhere she could live comfortably, like a hotel or a motel, somewhere. New Jersey was home to thousands of hotels, it would be no easy task to find her. He thought about calling 911 as they would have an easier way to find her, checking her credit card activity to track her down, but if she was smart, she would've brought cash with her so she couldn't be found. It didn't hurt to check, in that case.

"Anthony, can you come up here?" He called out of Gee's office, he sat the note on the desk so he had access to her computer. Her password was simple, a little too simple, batmanx0207. He logged on and clicked the internet tab, it slowly loaded up. Frank soon heard Anthony's footsteps approach the office, quickly. 

"What did you find?" 

"I think she's in danger. Gee - she wrote this note, basically that life is a bag of shit and I would be better off without her, she think's that she's a fucked up junkie and all of that progress she made isn't wroth it. She's planning on ending her life when the triplets are born - we have to find her. Fucking Donna, if I ever catch a fucking glimpse of her, I will kill her. Mark my words, she did this to my wife."

"Wait back up, who the fuck is Donna?" Anthony asked, confused. 

"Gee's mother who faked her death, she's fucking alive and told Gee all of these things that really fucked her up. She told Gee that she will always be an addict, that she will fuck up and screw up our children. That fucking cunt-"

"Holy shit. Is that what's been bugging Gee? I didn't want to say anything but she just, didn't seem like herself yesterday." 

"Yeah. She also uh, she bought a bag of cocaine, fuck. I'm so scared that she used, like, I'm fucking terrified that Donna's words got to her and she did a line, and she's really good at hiding it, she has been." 

"What are you going to do? Should we file a missing persons report? She's pregnant and can't be out and about, God knows what can happen."

"No, not yet. I'm going to look at her bank transactions to see if she's used it at all, maybe then we can narrow down the area and find hotels there, call em', and see if she's there. We need to bring her home, Gee isn't safe out there, not while she's so, broken down." his fingers typed on the keyboard, signing into everything that would give him the information he needed. "Bingo."

"What?" Antony peered over Frank's shoulder, looking at the computer screen. 

"There's a transaction from this morning. It looks like an ATM withdrawal from uh, a 7-11 in Westwood, it's like a half an hour away from us. I don't know if she's in that area, that transaction was from 5AM, so like 12 hours ago." 

"Maybe she crashed at a hotel. Someone outta know, maybe we can head out to that 7-11 and talk to an employee to see if they might've seen her, or if she said where she might've gone."

"Fuck, that's a good idea. Go wait in my car, I'm gonna write down the address of this place."

"What about Kyle? He's four."

"Then we'll take your car. I only have baby car seats in mine, they were a pain in the ass to put in. Just, hurry, we can't waste any time." He said, and Anthony nodded, then ran out of the office. He could be heard calling for his son, with a shaky hand Frank quickly wrote down the address of the 7-11 that Gee was at- or has been at.

Once written and checked, Frank shoved the piece of paper into his trousers, jumped out of the desk chair, and ran downstairs to meet up with Anthony and his son. Frank locked up the house, then they all piled into Anthony's cherry red car. Anthony was in the drivers seat, Frank in the passenger side, and Kyle safely strapped into the car seat in the back. The address of the 7-11 was typed into the GPS, then they were officially en-route to find Gee. 

-

The streets of New Jersey were driven on, turns were made and a few red lights were "accidentally" driven through. On their way to the convenience store, they were at a stop sign and Kyle could see an ice cream parlor, and promptly asked Anthony if they could get ice cream, or as he insisted, vanilla ice cream with rainbow sprinkles. 

Anthony knew that time was critical, they didn't have time to get ice cream but the little boy was hell bent on it. He didn't want to let him down, Anthony was the soft parent that had a hard time saying no sometimes, so he quickly made a stop to get his son the frozen treat he wanted - maybe an ice cream sandwich for himself. 

They all made it to the 7-11 surprisingly on time, it was deep inside of the town Westwood, next to all of the bars and venues. Anthony parked just out front of the store as Frank went in, it would be a lot quicker if it was just him. He was met with a gust of cold air from the AC, a bubbly blonde teenager greeted him as she stood behind the counter, chewing obnoxiously loud bubble gum. 

"Hi, yeah, I don't know If you can help me. But I'm looking for my wife? She's like, 8 months pregnant, black hair, about 5 foot 6, gorgeous, hazel eyes, she has scoliosis and a slipped disk so she kind of has a bit of a hunch to her back." he explained as best as he could to the girl who probably didn't even work that morning, "Her name is Geralyn, but we call her Gee. Uh, she was wearing a black and white stripped shirt and shorts. I think she was in here earlier this morning, maybe bought a coffee or cigarettes."

"No, I'm sorry sir. I didn't work this morning, I just got in about an hour and a half ago. I can call Andrew and ask him? He did the overnight and morning shift, I'm sure he would've talked to her."

"Could you? I mean, if it's no trouble." 

"It's really none - I'll call him, just wait out here, alright?" she insisted, and Frank nodded. He pulled his own phone and kept an eye just in case that Gee had somehow came in contact with him, he hoped that she would. Waiting for the woman to call whatever his name was, seemed like time went on forever 

Tick tock, tick tock, tick tock....The clock ticked so loudly as Frank waited for her, that was the only lead that they had to try and find Gee, even though all he could really say was if he spoke to Gee, but Frank was really hoping that she asked for directions to some hotel. Frank saw the girl sit on the desk, twirling her hair as she talked on the phone, wasting precious time. Nearly ten minutes passed before the cashier came out from the back, Frank's attention was instantly caught. 

"I just talked to him, he thinks that he might've talked to her."

"Oh thank god." he sighed in relief. "Did she ask for directions? or does he know where she might've gone?"

"Andrew said that she asked for directions to the furthest hotel from Westwood, he directed her to one down by New York. The uh..what's the name, I think he said it was the Overlook in Morganville, about forty minutes south of here. Do you need directions?"

"No, I have a GPS. Thank you so much for your help - it's really, really appreciated." he said. he rushed out of the convenience store, nearly tripping over his own feet. He nearly scared Anthony by whipping the car door open, and slamming it shut. 

Anthony jumped and gasped in his seat, almost dropping his ice cream. He asked Frank if they had seen her, and Frank told him that he knew where Gee was. The Overlook Hotel in Morganville, not sure on the room number but they could call and find those fine details out. Frank pulled up the number to the hotel, dialed it, waited through the ridiculously long menu of options, and finally got in contact with a worker at the hotel. 

Frank introduced himself, explained who he was looking for and if they could give out her room number. The man on the phone typed on his computer to pull up all of the information regarding Geralyn Iero, but since it was against protocol to give out the room number or confirmation of a guest at the hotel, Dave did not give out any information, but he did say that no one by that name was there. Though, Frank had doubts that she wasn't there, for God's sake, the woman at the gas station said that she was there, but it also could've been a mix up between people. Gee was not the only pregnant woman in New Jersey. 

Despite that, Gee's transaction showed that she was gone in the middle of the night. Frank thought, was he really sleeping that deeply, that he didn't notice his wife gone in the middle of the night? Maybe he if he was awake, he would've stopped her and she would've been home. They could've e talked it out and he could've helped her. This was a mess that needed to clean up, Frank couldn't do it, Gee couldn't do it, but they could do it together because that's what their marriage was - it was about working through tough times together. Frank wanted Gee to be okay, he knew that she was going through some shit and couldn't make it out of it alone, even though Gee doesn't want to be saved. He wanted to help her because he knew that she couldn't do it alone, in that vulnerable state she was in. 

Frank didn't know many things. Where Gee was, what was the true reason behind her leaving their home, and if his wife was alive. Many things went through his mind, but something inside him told him that something was not alright, and maybe even, he wouldn't find his wife, either alive or dead, he knew she could be anywhere. Somewhere far away from New Jersey, but he was hoping that he could find her before it was too late.


	33. Stand By Me

Far away from his home, Frank Iero found himself parked in front of a hotel. Through a tip from a bubbly cashier at a 7-11, Frank had found out where his wife had ran off during a time of desperation. It was critical that he found her, the note she left behind was alarming - suicidal even, so getting Gee back home and a very safe place where she can't harm herself, was very important to Frank. 

Frank, Anthony, and Anthony's son all piled into Anthony's car because Frank's didn't have enough room, thanks to the baby car seats in the back, and drove around trying to find a trail of breadcrumbs that would lead him to her. Kyle fell asleep in the back of the car, his cute little face covered in sprinkles. Anthony was in the driver's seat still, his phone in his hand while he waited for Frank. They made it to the overlook hotel within the next hour, Frank ran into the hotel, met with the man at the front desk, and asked for a spare key to room 834. Frank did have to show ID then, as he was requesting a key to the room. Everything checked out, names matched up, address, so the man at the desk - Dave, gave Frank a keycard to the room that had the room number on it. 

His short Italian legs quickly walked over to the golden elevator doors, her room was on the 8th floor of the hotel so he couldn't take the stairs. His heart was filled with butterflies, anxiety, fear, and sadness overtook him because he didn't know how she was going to be. The elevator ride seemed like the longest ride ever, always stopping for other people to come and go. 

1,2,3,4,5,6, and seven all came and went so slowly, agonizingly slow. Almost to where Frank wanted to scream and will time to go faster, if only he could. Floor number 8 arrived with a ding, and Frank nearly trampled over the people in the elevator to get out, but apologized for the impoliteness. 

The hallway was golden and red, the walls were a gorgeous champagne color with beautiful sconces, the carpet was a dark maroon color that complimented the walls perfectly. Frank looked at the first door, 801. Her room was just down the hall, he carefully looked at the room numbers as he walked down the hall, they seemed to flash by his eyes far too quickly- almost missing her room. 834 was soon right in front of him, noises couldn't be heard from inside, only that of the air conditioning unit inside of the room.

The keycard was slipped into the slot, a green light appeared on the door- the keycard worked. Frank gently opened the door, he peered in and only saw pure darkness with only a few streaks of light from the window. His eyes adjusted to the dark, he saw Gee underneath the covers, either asleep or dead, he couldn't tell. 

"Go away, I don't need any damn towels." Gee groaned from underneath the covers, annoyed.

"Gee." 

"Frank?" she gasped. Her tone changed into something softer. Gee was surprised to hear his voice, so soon, she knew that he would try to find her, but she was hoping it would've been much longer before he would find her. 

"Yeah. What're you doing here? You belong in our home, with me, not in some overly expensive hotel so far away from Belleville." he flicked on the lights, the room illuminated with the soft white lights. 

"Frank..You know why I'm here, I left a note. Can you just, leave? I don't want to come home, I'm only going to fuck everything up and I don't want you to see that." annoyed, she pulled the covers off of herself and sat up, her eyes slightly red and tired. 

"Gee, no, I'm not leaving unless you're leaving with me." he said, he closed the door and went over to her bed, he sat on the edge of it right in front of her. "I love you, okay? I'm not going to just let you run away. We need to talk about what happened, I want to help you. "

"How did you even find me?" 

"Well, I uh, I logged into your bank account, found a transaction from a Westwood 7-11, talked to someone from there, said you were here, and then I got a keycard from the dude at the front desk." he explained. "Gee, you aren't like Donna. You're clean, you're sober, you actually care about having a healthy life and maintaining your sobriety. You didn't use, even though there was cocaine in your hands and a bottle of scotch. You are stronger than you think, and I know that you'll be the best mother to our children." 

"Frank, I've been a junkie since I met Matthew. Eleven fucking years ago, I drank and did drugs until I was so close to killing myself, what makes you think that I'm not going to relapse? Not a single day goes by that I don't think about drinking or using, despite the fact I'm pregnant. I can't imagine a world where the fucking mouthwash has to be hidden because I will definitely have the urge to drink it. What kind of fucked up junkie thinks like that? I'm a junkie, that's it, Donna was right, that's all I'll ever be and I love you, and my children enough that I don't want them to see that." 

"I will do anything I can to be sure you don't relapse. Hide anything that even contains the tiniest amounts of alcohol, fuck, even check you into rehab until you can trust yourself to be back home. Gee, the babies and I need you, I can't even imagine a life without you. Donna, she has a twisted mind and doesn't know the progress you've made, she wants you to be like her, but you are so much stronger than she is." Frank put his hand on hers in an attempt to comfort her. He saw tears well in her eyes through his own. "Please come home, darling, we can get through this. I know that you can." 

Frank wasn't going to give up on her, nor was he going to allow Gee to give up on this life that she had built with him. It wasn't her time to leave the nest, Gee still had a long life ahead of her. Gee knew she had that, but she was also convinced that she would fuck up and leave her husband, and children disappointed in her. After Donna's words entered her mind, they contaminated nearly every part of her brain like a virus that couldn't be cured. 

Gee became both angry, and very upset at the same time. She cried as rage bubbled within her, frustrated - yet touched, at Frank's constant persistence to help her and bring her back to the New Jersey home. She took a deep breath, got out of bed, and stood next to the door of the room. 

"Frankie, I love you more than anything, but I think you should go. I need to be alone, I can't risk hurting you." Her voice was choked up, obviously she held back tears. 

"I'm not leaving, Gee. Please, let me help you." 

"Donna was right, Frank. Donna couldn't be helped, my Dad couldn't help her, rehab couldn't, not even my Grandmother. What makes you think that I have this magic power that will not make me relapse? You saw that I already fucked up, for fucks sake, I bought booze and a bag of cocaine, you don't know how close I was to snorting a line, I had a dollar bill, a flat surface, and two lines already poured out. The only thing that stopped me, was a police officer that pulled into the parking lot next to me." 

"You're letting Donna get to your head. Gee, I know that you are so much stronger than you think you are. You've made it so far, like, you went to rehab and AA and NA meetings for years so you could sober up, it's been six years that you've been sober, no drugs, very little alcohol. Baby, come home with me. Just trust me on this, I know that you can do it, you've made it this far. Show Donna that you're so much better than what she thinks of you, you are stronger than this." he stood up and walked over to Gee, Frank grabbed her hands softly. 

"I don't..."

"Baby, you can do it. If you can't do it for yourself, do it for me and our babies." He placed one of her hands onto her belly, his on top of hers. "These babies need you, I need you, Gee. Please don't do this, everything will be okay."

Frank's eyes looked into hers, Gee's heart pounded in her chest and her stomach felt sick, her chest rose and fell quickly and her eyes were red, filled with salty, hot tears. It was a choice she had to make, to go back home and continue to fight for her sobriety, or keep her stance and give up entirely when the babies are born. Maybe it was worth it after all, to keep fighting to become better than Donna, what good would It do her if she became the woman that she swore she would never become. It was a very hard choice to make, but deep inside Gee's heart, she knew what the best choice was amongst the two. So, she looked into Frank's eyes and made her choice, a choice that would be the best for her and everyone else even though it would be tough. 

-

"I'm sorry," Gee mumbled, her knees were pulled up to her belly, hands wrapped around them as she sat in the lemon scented bubble bath. "But you shoulda left me there." 

"No, you're back home and things will be okay now. I'm very proud that you came back, darling, you're stronger than you think and just coming back shows that you aren't ready to give up. Hang in there, kiddo, you have a lot of fight left in ya." he smiled and kissed the top of her head, his hand held a black loofah soaked in soap. 

"Did filming go okay?" her voice was soft. 

"Very, a few hiccups along the way but it went pretty rad. I'll show you the footage later, once the team sends it over in case any changes have to be made. The next one to be shot is She's The Prettiest Girl, but we can't start until tour begins."

"That's great to hear. Zombie Frank tearing apart innocent children, sounds like a gnarly horror film to me." 

"Frank Iero and The Cannibals. It has a cool ring to it." he giggled as he washed her back.

They were back in their cozy house back in Belleville. Gee broke down and made the choice to come home, though she was still very, very fragile and would need some time to face reality again with a clear mind. Anthony was delighted to see Gee exit the hotel with Frank by her side, he got out of the car to greet Gee with a warm embrace, relived that she was okay. 

The rain poured in New Jersey, dark clouds blanketed the city and rain flooded the streets. Thunder cracked in the sky, flashes of lighting illuminated the darkness with quick bolts. It would be only a matter of time before the power went out, they were all hoping that it didn't because that meant they wouldn't have air conditioning in summer, it would be horrible, especially for Gee and being in her 8th month. 

The clock was ticking down on her pregnancy, slowly she grew closer to giving birth and it terrified her, it was an added stressor that she couldn't avoid. Between her mother, the urge to use, and getting ready to leap head first into motherhood, she felt so overwhelmed and didn't know how to escape that feeling. Running away was her only solution, not being surrounded by all of those reminders calmed her down, but Gee knew that she would have to come back. Frank needed her, and he wanted to help her in anyway he could. 

Gee made the choice to go back to therapy and continue on with her antidepressants, Frank helped her realize that she needed to be there for her children because if he would've left her there, she would've became the woman that she always promised she would never become. It would take work to get past over what had been affecting her. Gee had to find her new normal, being home wouldn't be normal for a long time, things - she knew, would be changing so quickly with her due date approaching, so many things were happening at once it was hard to find that normalcy back in her life. 

Frank had to leave the home for tour soon, in less than two weeks he had to leave for the European leg of the Stomachaches tour, it would be so hard to adjust to life once again. A part of Gee's choice to leave was because of that, it would be hard for her to be alone without Frank in those weeks leading up to the triplet's birth, anything can go wrong medically and with the different time zone, contacting him could be very hard. A plan would have to be made before Frank left for tour, to simplify things in the up and coming weeks. 

-

Dressed in maternity jeans and a shirt that used to be too big, but she had grown into as the pregnancy progressed, Gee had gone out to her car with Frank. A doctors appointment was scheduled for the next morning to check on the babies inside, they occurred more often for her now that the babies were very close to arriving and it was more important to keep an eye on them. Though her doctor wanted her on bedrest, a doctors appointment was the only exception. She was a little apprehensive about going because of her being gone and off of her medication, a part of her fear that something was wrong with the babies. 

Frank tagged along with her to support her as usual, and he himself was a little worried about the status of the triplets, surely all of the stress and lack of prenatal vitamins wasn't good for them. The doctors appointment would give them both peace of mind in terms of the pregnancy and the wellbeing of the babies. Since arriving back at the home, Gee had been quite silent and to herself, seemingly from shame, it stayed that way on the car ride to the doctor's office, silent with nothing but music to fill the silence. Even in the waiting room, she tapped her foot and bit the nail of her thumb as she waited for the nurse to come out, Frank tried to calm her down but it was found difficult when he himself was anxious. 

The nurse brought her and Frank back to an exam room and did the normal routine, collected a urine sample from Gee, took her vitals, measured her tummy, and took note of the heartbeats of all three of the babies. They were all perfectly normal, all between 130 and 140 beats per minute, just in the range for babies at 31 weeks gestation, that provided a sense of relief to Gee and her husband. Frank sat on a chair next to the exam bed that Gee was on, he held her hand as they waited for the man with the Irish accent. Though, he got distracted by a 3D model of the female reproductive system, he picked up the model of the system and observed it closely. 

"So, is this is here, and my dick is this long, how does it all fit?" He mumbled to himself, "Does it like, go inside the uterus?"

"Frankie, what are you doing?" She asked him, trying to get a look at what he was up to. 

"I don't understand, obviously you know how like, big I am and like, I don't understand how I can fit? Does it bunch up or like, go into your uterus? Is that how I got you pregnant?"

"...no? You didn't take sex ed in high school?"

"Well, yeah, we were thought to put condoms on bananas and what ejaculation is, but we were told to stay away from sex until marriage because it was a catholic school. I've never known like, what the actual size of things are."

"You believed in no sex before marriage?"

"Before I met Jamia. Catholics are so serious about that shit, they even are forced to circumcise their babies, and have to be married in a church but fuck that, that bastard above us can't control me and my penis." Frank huffed. He put the structure back onto the table, then went over to the chair and sat down. Gee chuckled quietly at that, Frank noticed and smiled solely because of her smiling, it was the first time he had seen her smile just a little since they came home. 

Frank always managed to make her laugh or smile, regardless of her mood or what might've happened. But to see her smile despite what had happened, made his heart warm and he was quite sure that Gee felt the same as he did, just for that small amount of time. He reached his hand over to hold hers as they waited for the doctor to come in. 

-

The Doctor from Ireland came in the room after nearly 30 minutes, Emmet and his coworkers had just returned from a lunch and ran a little late, but he made it back to the office with minimal time to spare. He came into the room with a soft smile to his face, happy to see the expectant parents. He sat on his little stool with a clipboard in his hands. 

"So, Mrs. Iero, it's good to see that you're still in this country."

"Yeah, well, Frank doesn't leave until the 15th so don't count on me not being in Europe." She said, and both Frank and her doctor gave her disapproving looks, each with their own reasons behind the disapproval. Gee mumbled a "sorry" and laid back on the bed, lifting her shirt up to expose her tummy. The stomach that had grown for the last eight months into this monstrous thing on her body, painful, covered in stretchmarks and a strange dark line, and occasionally a baby trying to push itself out of the belly, resulting in a alien-like appearance from the outside. 

The doctor did his normal routine, painted her tummy with the transparent blue gel, and pressed the probe on her to take a peek at the nearly full term babies. "They all seem to be sleeping in there, all of their organs are developing beautifully, they're the size of honeydew melons and have all turned upside down in preparation of the birth, and weight wise, all are around four and a half pounds."

"Wow. That's like, 13.5 pounds of baby." Frank said. 

"Sure feels like it." Gee sighed, "So since like, they're upside down for birth, do I still need to have a C-section or..."

"Well, Mrs. Iero, the concern I have is that there's a possibility that they'll get stuck in the birth canal, or that there will be excessive bleeding. A C-section would prevent those, but based on the positioning of the babies, it seems that natural labor is a possibility and we'll have to see how things go. Now, your water may not break on it's own, and if you do not go into labor on your own by June 10th, we'll have to induce you." he explained. 

"What do you mean induce?"

"We'll break your water, and start you on Pitocin, it'll speed labor along, induce contractions and dilate the cervix. A benefit of Pitocin is that it will help control bleeding after, and during birth so it will reduce that risk of loosing too much blood." 

"Wait, so what's the plan? I'd love to have an idea."

"I think what's best, is for us to be on standby and be prepared for each scenario. Natural labor, induction, and a C-section, make sure to have a hospital bag packed because since you'll be delivering triplets, you'll have to stay in the hospital for a few days for routine monitoring." 

"Aw. I thought that I could go home afterwards. My sister-in-law just gave birth to my niece and was discharged like, a day later."

"That's just one baby, Mrs. Iero, you'll be delivering three so they'll need a lot of care, and yourself." he said, he took the probe off of her tummy and handed her a handful of tissues. A strip of sonogram photos were handed to Frank, who gladly accepted them. He looked at them with happy eyes, the little babies never failed to make him smile.

Gee sat back up, with the help of Frank because moving around those days was not easy. Her doctor left the room for a short while, only to return back with a needle and syringe that had been filled with her estrogen booster. She turned a pale shade of white at the sight of the sharp needle, "Uh. I think that I'll pass this time."

"Mrs. Iero, you do this every time. It'll be over in less than five seconds, there's only one of these left after this, you can do it." Emmet sighed, flicking the syringe. He pulled a rubbing alcohol pad from his lab coat, sat the syringe down for a moment so clean off the era on Gee's arm. 

"Emmet, I've been nothing but a trooper throughout this entire pregnancy, I think that you can let me slide on just one shot and double up next week. Like, an IOU situation, sound good?" she stuttered, the crippling fear of needles taking over her. Though she had been given many shots over the duration of her pregnancy, she was still absolutely terrified of them. Frank held her hand, but it escalated to Gee hiding her face in his chest, almost hugging him to hide from the sharp needle. 

Frank and Emmet looked at each other for a quick second before the doctor stuck her with the needle, she jerked and whined at the sudden pain, but Frank kissed her head and rubbed her back. Emmet covered the small - almost microscopic, wound with a bandage that had Snoopy and Woodstock on it. He didn't have any standard, boring bandages, instead he had cartoon bandages to make people who are scared of needles, a little more relaxed. 

"You're all done, and you have some cute characters on your arm." he said. 

"That doesn't help." she scoffed. "No more needles, right? Please tell me there's no more needles." 

"Well, not exactly, but for now, no more needles. I will see you next Wednesday for your glucose test, though, and you've got to promise me that you'll be on bedrest and not in the United Kingdom. It's very critical that you remain on bedrest, you can go into early labor, the placenta can be dethatched from the uterus, many things can happen if you aren't careful."

"Luckily for all of us, I'm terrified of planes and Frank wouldn't be with me to fly home. I'll just have to suck it up and seclude myself to my bedroom like a hobbit. It's for a good cause, though."

"Good. Take care of yourself, I'll see you on Wednesday." The doctor shook her and Frank's hands, then left the exam room. Gee was still bothered by the needle, she muttered curse words under her breath as she rubbed her arm. That doctor has taken care of her throughout her pregnancy, he's made sure the babies were alive but those fucking needles. She was not able to see past that. 

-

An hour later, they arrived back at their home in Belleville. Anthony and his son were out back playing with the dogs, Frank went out to greet them while Gee went to her bedroom to change into more comfortable clothing. The only thing that she could find comfortable in that stage of pregnancy, was a maternity sports bra, a pair of Star Wars pajama pants, and a contraption that was used to support the extra weight of her tummy. She cuddled up with her pregnancy pillow, turned off all of the lights in the bedroom, and turned on one of her favorite movies that happened to be The Human Centipede. 

Being pregnant, Gee's appetite reached a whole new level. While laying in her room, a hunger came upon her and she had just finally got comfortable in her bed, a solution to her problem was to go out of bed to make herself a snack, but she was just so fucking comfortable. However, Mitch was laying on her bed next to her, dozing off and purring, an idea came upon her. Gee then reached over to her nightstand, pulled out a sticky note pad and a pen. "Frank, could you bring me a snack? I can't move. - G"

The note was rolled up, and stuck into Mitch's collar. She gently pet his head to wake him up, he meowed at her and looked, annoyed that he was awoken from his slumber. "Mitch, there's a note in your collar, go give it to Frank. Please?" Mitch meowed at her again, then curled back into his previous position, though his attention was caught when Gee mentioned treats, she may or may not had kept a bag or two of cat treats in her nightstand. The cat jumped from the bed and scurried out of the bedroom, Gee shouted a "Good boy, Mitch!" as he ran out of the bedroom to find Frank. 

Mitch ran through the house, meowing and sniffing around for Frank. He ran through the top floor of the house, not in any of the guest rooms, bathrooms, nothing, but downstairs he was spotted outside with Anthony and his nephew, the door was closed so Mitch scratched at the door and meowed. Anthony noticed Mitch and pointed it out to Frank, but Frank thought it was strange because he and Mitch did not get along, but when it was about Gee, Mitch was like an alarm bell for him. He stood from his seat outside, opened the sliding glass door and looked down at Mitch, noticing the blue post it note rolled up in his collar. He pulled it out, read it, and giggled at the effort she took into getting the message to him, instead of calling, texting, or going down herself. 

"Everything good?" Anthony asked, a orange popsicle in his hand. 

"Yeah. Gee put a note in his collar for him to bring down, she's hungry." 

"Smart cat, wow. I should teach our cat how to alert my husband for food." 

"I didn't think you'd have a cat because you don't like pussy." Frank smirked, he stuck his tongue out at Anthony, who retaliated with his middle finger sticking straight up. Frank giggled at him, then went into the home, still smiling. 

In the kitchen, Frank decided to make something special for Gee. Though Gee would never ask for a lot of food because of her own insecurities, but Frank knew her, and especially being pregnant, she didn't just want a snack. So, he made her a bowl of fruit, blueberry pancakes, a cup of cranberry juice , a mug of coffee with a smaller cup of her favorite creamer, and a bagel. Everything was placed onto a tray all neatly, a folded black napkin placed underneath the silverware. 

Mitch followed Frank up to the bedroom, excited for the treat that he had been promised by Gee. Frank was careful to not drop the tray as he walked up to their bedroom, but Mitch weaving between his legs almost caused him to trip numerous times. 

"Feed her! Feed her! Swallow it, bitch." Dr. Heiter's voice came screaming through the television at Lindsay and Katsuro. Frank found the movie itself to be disturbing, but Gee loved it, probably for that exact reason. The room was dark, the only light came from the TV and the sunlight that peaked through their curtains. Mitch ran ahead of Frank and jumped onto the bed, he meowed and walked on top of Gee, waiting for his treat. 

"Hey, Jiggy, I got your note from Mitch, the messenger cat." Frank smiled as he walked into the dark room. Gee poked her head up to see Frank, pleased to see him and that Mitch did the task correctly. "Good boy." she whispered, petting Mitch. Gee sat up on the bed, the blanket still over her body, her skin was lightly shiny from sweat, the AC blasted in that room. 

"Aw, Frankie, thank you. I wasn't expecting all of that- maybe a bag or two of jelly beans or something." she adjusted herself as she sat up, a fluffy pillow behind her back for support, that damn scoliosis. 

"I've got to make sure that you're well fed, baby. I know pregnancy makes you hungry so I wanted to make sure you had food." he said. the tray of food was sat next to her on the bed. Frank went to close the door, then sat on the bed next to Gee. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm good, just mad at Emmet for that motherfucking shot, and very hot in here, are you hot?" 

"Nope, It's actually quite cold in here." He shrugged. "Want me to crack open a window?"

"But the heat will come in. I'll run to target after I eat and get a fan because it's just so fucking hot what the fuck, it's May! It's not even officially summer."

"You're pregnant. I read in the baby book that it's like, from increased blood flow or something that makes your temperature increase. I don't know, pregnancy is weird." 

"I'm glad we're on the same page." 

"Can I ask you something? I don't think I've gotten the chance to ask you since you became pregnant." 

"Sure."

"What's it like to have humans inside of you? I mean, what's pregnancy like?" He asked.

"Well," she started, her fork in her hand. "It's kind of strange but cool. I mean, I feel like I'm constantly sick, sometimes I puke, piss constantly, I can smell nearly everything within a five mile radius, things are happening to my body that make me sad, my boobs aren't the same, I can't see my toes anymore, my hips constantly hurt, I get random cramps after an orgasm or random times throughout the day, I'm always hungry even when I'm on the verge of vomiting, and it's been months since I've been able to see my vagina. I feel like a completely different woman now, sometimes I don't feel like me. I get scared that I won't ever feel like the woman I was before because she kind of had a grip on life but now everything will change."

"Whoa. I didn't know pregnancy would just, change someone like that. Pregnant women seem so happy to be carrying a baby, but like, I have so much respect for you and other women who do this, growing a human is such a like, exhausting task. I'm so proud of you, Jiggy. You've only got like, four and a half weeks left before it'll be all done, and I know you'll be a super mom."

"I would hope so. I mean, you're the one who knocked me up so we're in this together, there's no turning back now." she snickered, "I'm kind of freaking the fuck out, I don't want to end up like her."

"Darling. I'm fairly certain that you won't, you have a better outlook on life than she does. You're clean, sober, and have given up nearly everything for our babies, you've already done so much for these little babies." 

"I'm sorry for being a pain in the ass. I'm just trying to do what's best for our babies, I want them to be happy and not fuck up like I've done. They all deserve to have a clean life and I just get scared I'll interfere with that."

"It's okay. I know that you're worried and all but like, you've made it this far and you've done just fine. I'll be right by your side throughout it all so if anyone messes them up, it's gonna be me. In all seriousness, though, you'll be a great mom, everything that happened in your past doesn't like, define who you'll be as a mother. I believe in you, Jiggy." 

"Well damn, Frankie, you're gonna make me cry in my pancakes." she said, a little choked up. Frank's words meant so much to her, Frank was the most important man in her life and she relied on him so much, especially during the pregnancy because her mind was constantly scrambled and filled with unpleasant things. The stress of being a mother and controlling her past of addiction, was just so overwhelming for her. 

Frank was the type of man that would stand by someone if they needed him, but for Gee, he would be there no matter what she did, what she was going through, or what she wanted because he loved and cared for her more than he thought was humanly possible. Gee knew that Frank was there for her, and she was - and would always be there for Frank, despite anything that might've happened, for once Gee felt like things would be alright.


	34. The Prettiest Girl

May 10th, 2010. 32 weeks pregnant, 4 weeks away from the due date. 

"Gee." Frank whispered, the clock just struck 4:23AM, he laid on his stomach with his arms supporting his head, with one hand he poked Gee's back lightly. "Gee."

The expectant mother groaned in her sleep, she moved stirred slightly in her sleep, cuddled up against her maternity pillow. Gee huffed and settled back in her place, ignoring Frank as if he was not even there. 

"I have good news." his voice still low, he slowly pulled the covers off of her sleeping body. "It's like, really big news." 

"Frankie, your penis isn't big news. I've seen it and touched it so many times, it's 4AM, I'm pregnant, let's maybe wait until the morning?" she yawned, stretching her legs. 

"It's not about my penis." he giggled, tugging on her pantleg. Gee groaned, then reached her hand over to her nightstand to flick the switch of her lamp. She blinked and sat up, her eyes slowly adjusted to the light of the bedroom. Her hands rubbed her eyes as she yawned, still exhausted. 

"Sweetheart, why did you wake me up at four in the morning? Is everything okay?" 

"Yeah, everything is completely fine, However, I just looked at the calendar on my phone and we're officially one month before the babies arrive! May 10th!" 

"Oh that's great. I'm excited for this pregnancy to be over and done with. Aw, but that means that you leave in five days." 

"Fuck that's right, but hey, the babies are coming soon! It feels like we just found out that you were pregnant, holy shit, I'm so fucking stoked, Gee!" He basically bounced on the bed, a sweet smile on his face. 

"You're so adorable, Mouse." she smiled sleepily, then leaned over to kiss him and ruffle his hair a bit. Gee got out of bed, slipped on a pair of her moccasins, and walked towards the bathroom. Frank stopped her by jumping up, grabbing her from behind and hugging her, his hands on her bare belly. He kissed her neck, scruff tickled the soft skin. She told him that she had to pee, and he pulled away and whined because he wanted to hold her, even though she would be gone for just a short period of time. 

He sat on the bed and pouted until Gee came back into the room, but he took the time to strip out of his clothing and only into a pair of boxers with dogs all over them. His legs were crossed on the bed as he waited, Sweetpea next to his leg. Frank waited twenty minutes for Gee to come out of the bathroom, her hair slightly messed up and cheeks flushed.

"Jeez, what happened in there?"

"Funny story. I had to piss, alright, so when I was washing my hands, the smell of our soap made me puke. So I vomited, it's kind of cool that even now I immediately vomit from smells or tastes."

"Are you, Geralyn Lee Iero, complaining about vomiting?" He quirked an eyebrow. 

"Not at all. The nosebleeds are fuckin' gnarly as hell." She tossed a wad of tissue paper in the trash can next to the side of her bed, then climbed onto the bed. She plopped down on her side and adjusted into her mountain of pillows, Frank sat on her lap, his legs straddled hers. He put his hands on her tummy, attempting to feel the little babies from the outside. 

"I can't believe that in a month, we'll be parents. Like, a year ago, we were probably cramped up in that smelly old office, now we're both living our dreams and a few weeks away from having the title of Mom and Dad." 

"I know, it's so cool, I mean, it's scaring the shit out of me. But you know what, I think I've finally settled in with the idea of being a mother. You'll be by my side throughout it and like, I guess no one really knows how to be a parent. I've made it this far being sober and not a complete fuck up, I think I can do it." 

"That's my girl! I know that you can do it, baby, we can tackle it together. We're a team, and I know you'll do fucking amazing. You already are doing really good, you've been creating our babies inside of your body for the last eight months, I'm so thankful that I get to have my babies with my very best friend." His hands still on her belly, a sparkle in his eyes, "Like, when I met you, I swear on my life that I saw our future flash before my eyes, that didn't happen with Jamia or any other girl I've dated, you truly are the love of my life. I'm really proud of you, Jiggy, you're almost to the finish line and you're doing so amazing, I believe in you." 

"Aw, Frankie. I feel like you're trying to make me cry. Either that or these babies are making me sensitive again. But, that means a whole-fucking-lot to me." Gee placed a hand on top of his, "Frankie?"

"Yes?"

"I know that was like a really nice conversation and stuff, but could you maybe, run downstairs and make me a cup of coffee? We can continue the conversation as soon as you get back up, I'm really so-"

"Coffee? You got it. Decaf?" He leaned down to kiss her, the bump attached to her tummy got in the way a bit. "It's almost five in the morning."

"Nah, I'm going to head into my office for a little bit, Claudia has a meeting scheduled for Thursday to discuss publishing The Umbrella Academy: Apocalypse Suite before the end of the year. We're planning on having a release party in September, just for the families of those who work at D.C." 

"Darling, be sure that you're getting plenty of rest before our babies come, labor will take a lot of energy out of you so you'll need it, but that's still fucking amazing!" He kissed her again, a proud smile on his face. His hands cupped her cheeks as he kissed her. Then, Frank jumped off of the bed, put his bunny slippers on - that his mother had bought him for his birthday, and left the bedroom. Gee watched him with loving eyes, she felt so lucky to have someone like him in her life.

When Frank left the bedroom, she got out of bed, put on a loose shirt that had a very worn out Hole logo on the front. A fan in her office was on full blast, the heat waves that occur during pregnancy were absolutely brutal. She had her Harry Potter style glasses on her face as she wrote in her notebook. Her record player played a track off of Pixies' album, Bossanova. 

Mitch followed her into the room, he curled onto her leather couch with his favorite toy. Frank joined her shortly, a nice tall mug of coffee in his hand, a bagel in the other and her prenatal vitamins and other pills, so not only did she remember her medication, but had something in her belly. 

"Here you go, Jiggy." Frank kissed her cheek as he sat the plate, and a R2D2 mug filled with the delicious hot beverage. "It's about 5:30 so like, I'm gonna hit the hay with my amazing blanket that you bought me, and I'll see you in a few hours."

"Thank you, baby. I'll catch up to you shortly, I'm just adding some finishing touches to it. Its kind of like, a teaser for the comic. But yeah, I'll see you in a bit." Frank kissed her again, and her belly and then left the office, he was sure to close the doors to her office so she could have full concentration on the project.

Gee opened her windows to allow the fresh air into her office, the sounds of bluebirds singing outside of her window was so warming to her, nature was something she loved and appreciated so much. It helped with her concentration, and since she wasn't able to go on full walks anymore, cracking a window or two was a good substitute for that. Mitch loved it too, he loved to sit on the windowsill and watch the birds and bugs fly around. He had to be trained to not run away, as he used to jump to chase after the squirrels, bunnies, or other creature that ran in their yard. It was also why Mitch had to be microchipped. 

With her digital art tablet on her desk and a pen in band, she focused on each frame of the teaser very closely, making sure that everything was neat and precise. Her idea for the teaser was to have the characters be introduced through quick flashes, a brief summary, and a screen at the end that read 

Coming September 2010  
The Umbrella Academy: Apocalypse Suite  
a comic by G. Way  
"One gets used to things, even if sometimes, one shouldn't."

Gee had the first, and last frame completed, a sketch or two started within the few hours she spent in her office. Two and a half cups of coffee were drank before the clock even struck 9:30, yet the caffeine didn't prevent her from crashing on the couch with Mitch laying on her tummy. When one of the babies would kick, the feline would meow and look around, confused. He didn't understand what it was, it scared him just a little bit, but he wasn't going to leave Gee's side. Ever since she became pregnant, Mitch was constantly by her side, he felt the need to protect her and he wasn't quite sure why. The dogs did the same, they wouldn't cuddle with Frank, they would all lay with Gee. Even though all of the fur made her allergies bad, she still laid with them. 

Frank woke up again at around 10:45, though he stayed cuddled in the covers for a period of time as he checked his phone, tweeted, responded to texts and emails, he found things to give him a reason to not get out of bed. Anthony knocked on his bedroom door, but Frank told him that he was naked as he typically didn't sleep with underwear or anything on his body, except for the blankets. Anthony thought that Frank was messing with him, so he walked right into the bedroom and was greeted with a unsettling look at Frank's penis. 

"Frank, fuck!" Anthony yelled, he covered his eyes and turned around. 

"I fuckin' warned you!" Frank replied, he scurried to cover his lower lap with his blanket. 

"I just wanted to tell you Good Morning and I get fucking flashed by your dick. Jesus Christ." he groaned, furiously rubbing his eyes to erase that image. "Are you decent?"

"Yeah. I told you I didn't have any clothes on, don't blame me." he shrugged, adjusting the blanket to be sure Anthony wasn't flashed again. 

"I thought you were messing with me!" Anthony turned around to face Frank hesitantly, relieved to see that he was covered with his blankets. "Where's Gee? Oh no, did she-"

"No, she's in her office, I think she might've fallen asleep in there. Hey, the band and I are doing a show tonight at the Wellmot, and I'd love if you'd come."

"What about my kid? I don't know how the setting will be and I don't want him to get hurt, or exposed to something wildly inappropriate." 

"Well, my manager said that I can have my family on the side stage so you all won't be in the crowd. Mom, Dad, and Gee will all be there as well. We also have headphones so Kyle's ears won't get hurt." he explained, his hands did most of the talking for him as it did with nearly every Italian. Anthony was touched at the gesture for his son, not really surprised because Frank was a caring, warmhearted person. 

"Hell yeah, sounds great." 

"Afterwards, the band and the rest of us are going out to dinner, then to see a movie. It's like a 'Have fun on tour!' sorta shindig, Jamia organized it for us, since she's kind of apart of the planning now for the band. I think we'll be seeing Die Hard the Drive In has a showing tonight and we all love the movie - but if you want to watch something different, we all can negotiate." 

"Are you kiddin' me?! I love Die Hard. Though it's not appropriate for my son, but I can just set him up with my iPad and he can watch SpongeBob, I would never miss out on Die Hard." 

"Awesome. Alright, well I've gotta be at the venue in a few hours for soundcheck and shit, we should leave here around 3:30, show starts at 6, doors are at 5."

"Got it. I'm gonna go back downstairs with my son, he's eating breakfast."

"Better not be my Frankenberry." Frank said, an eyebrow cocked. Anthony snickered and walked out of the room, he closed the bedroom door behind him to avoid Frank flashing anyone else. Anthony did crack into Frank's stash of Frankenberry, and proceeded to slip a note into the empty box that read, "you showed me your dick so I took your cereal, we're even.", but Frank wouldn't find that out until much later on. 

-  
Once Anthony left the bedroom, Frank got out of bed. He put his boxers back on, freshened himself up, shaved his face, put a face mask on, and then went to Gee's office to wake her up. Frank slowly opened the door and poked his head into the room, she was awake and sitting on the couch, the pets next to her. Gee had a cup of coffee in one hand and a book in the other, What To Expect When You're Expecting." 

"Jiggy, good morning!" Frank said loudly, startling the pregnant woman. Gee gasped and the book fell from her hand, slamming on the hardwood floor. It set off a train reaction of the dogs jumping up and barking loudly. 

"Son of a - Frank!" she gasped, her coffee cup nearly slipping from her grip. Mama and Sweetpea looked at Frank and barked, "Ladies-It's okay, holy shit. I'm okay, stop barking please."

Frank laughed instead of helping, he could hardly breathe from laughing at the chain of events. The dogs slowly calmed down and stopped barking, though Sweetpea was much more harsh with her barks. She wagged her tail and barked at Frank, but eased dup. "Motherfuck. I almost pissed my pants, what the fuck." she groaned, feeling between her legs. 

"I'm so sorry-" he wheezed. "I swear to god that was not planned, holy shit." 

"That was almost as bad as that time you saw a spider! I should have a sign stapled to my chest that says Don't scare the pregnant lady." 

"At least you didn't piss your pants this time." 

"My water just might break the next time I'm scared half to death. I really thought my water broke back in the kitchen, it would be much more of an excusable thing than accidentally pissing on the motherfucking floor because of a spider." 

"Wait, so can I like, scare the shit out of you so the babies come early? Like, throw a party here with a lot of balloons, teenagers, spiders, large dogs..."

"I...don't think that's how it works, but it would be cool as fuck to not be pregnant anymore. No more scaring me, I almost dropped my coffee and that is worse than pissing myself, wasting coffee is a god damn sin. Wait, the fuck is on your face? You look like the Tin Man from The Wizard Of Oz."

"It's a face mask! Jamia knows that I love them so she got this for me, it like, cleans the shit outta your face. It smells like oranges, I was kind of tempted to eat it but my shit would look like a ball of metal." 

"It looks so galactic, like -"

"Alien cum. Alien bukkake." 

"Fuck, alien porn? Sign me the fuck up." She snickered, "I'm going to get breakfast and uh, I might need your help in the shower."

"I like where this is going. Are we on the same page?" He bit his lip, naughty things on his mind.

"I'm afraid that we aren't. I might need help shaving my legs, again. I'm sorry, I just can't fuckin' reach them anymore. It's motherfucking bullshit." she groaned, she crossed her legs and sipped from her cup. 

That was something that was inevitable, Frank had to help her with things like that because Gee would end up with many, many nicks and cuts on her legs if not. But Frank was so kind and understanding that he helped her with that; he would also paint her toenails for her, even though she never had them painted in general. Once, Frank painted both his and her toenails black, along with their fingernails just so that they could match. 

Frank never minded helping her with anything, especially something like that. So, after they enjoyed their breakfast with Anthony and their nephew, the duo went up to their bathroom, showered, and Frank helped her do what she needed to do. He also put some of that glorious silver, orange scented face mask on her face so she could experience it firsthand. It made her a little sick to her stomach, but with the sensitivity to scents aside, Gee liked it a lot. 

After their shower, they dressed. Gee picked the outfit of a red plaid skirt, and a black tee that sported Frank's band's logo on it, she clipped a black bow into the side of her hair, a red matte lipstick on her lips and a solid black eyeliner rimmed her gorgeous eyes. The shoes she chose were Dr. Martens, laced up to the top and shiny. Frank had to look good for the show, so he chose a cherry red shirt, a faux leather jacket, and a pair of jeans that had tears In the knees, the shoes he chose were boots, similar to Gee's. 

Now, Gee wasn't technically supposed to be out of bed for something like that, but she did call her OB and had him weigh in and get his permission, after explaining everything that was planned for that night, he thought that going out for a few hours would be fine, after all, she wouldn't be doing anything crazy like flying to the United Kingdom, and between the dinner and going to the drive in, she would be sitting, and that wouldn't do any harm to the babies. 

Once dressed, Gee went to check on Anthony and Kyle. The younger twin came out of the guest room with a similar outfit to Frank's, but with a jean jacket and a pair of shorts, Nike shoes rather than boots, the majority of his tattoos were covered so he could be easily mistaken as Frank, but they were hoping that wouldn't happen. Anthony's son had a yellow shirt with a dinosaur on it, shorts, and child - sized vans. All together, they were a well dressed crowd. 

Gee offered to drive, so she and Frank took her car while Anthony and his son were in his. The venue Frank was due to play at was deep in New Jersey, but wasn't very far from their home. The hot New Jersey sun shined over them, barely any clouds in the sky. 

\- 

Behind the venue, stood Evan, Matt, Ed, and Jamia. They all had cigarettes in their hands, smoking as they waited for Frank to arrive. The area behind the venue where the band and VIP's were allowed to park, was cut off by a chain link fence, fans of all ages - but mostly teenage girls, stood next to the fence, snapping photos with papers, photos, and CD's in their hands for a chance to have the band sign them. 

Frank and his wife rolled up to the venue with time to spare, Anthony followed behind them. The group of people outside of the fence screamed and cheered when they saw Frank, but not only just one Frank, but two of him. Identical twins, they didn't know that Frank had siblings let alone an identical twin. 

"Frank, Gee, Anthony!" Jamia exclaimed, a bright smile appeared on her face when she saw the trio. She stomped on her finished cigarette then walked over to greet Frank with a hug, he hugged her back before she moved to Gee in a awkward hug, her belly made even hugging close to impossible. Jamia complimented Gee's appearance, she mentioned that pregnancy sure did her looks very well. 

"Am I seeing double, Frank?" Evan asked, looking at him and then Anthony. 

"Ha! No, he's my twin brother, Anthony. I've mentioned him before."

"Yeah, but not the twin part, that really threw me for a loop. I thought there was some weed in this cigarette and I was trippin' out a little. You two are like, identical."

"Well, no shit Sherlock. We grew inside of our mother from the same cells, just like how all identical twins are created." the sarcasm was heavy, he nudged Evan with his elbow. "Of course we have differences, like for one, I'm adorable, and Anthony Is slightly less adorable but we all love him." 

"You're saying that to me, the dude who looks exactly like you, which is a compliment so thank you." Anthony snickered, he picked up his son and rested him on his hip. He kissed the top of his little head and rubbed his back. They could all tell that Anthony was a great father, and that was a great first impression for everyone in the band, even though he was a twin of Frank, they could see a bright friendship bloom. 

The fans outside still took photos of everyone that would surely be seen on twitter later on. Though a touch creepy, it was unavoidable in that setting. After a cigarette or two, the seven of them all went into the venue to get their badges and VIP wrist bands.

While Frank and the band did sound check and got all of their instruments tuned and set up, Anthony, Gee, Jamia, and Kyle all went down to the Merch table to get up all of the shirts, vinyls, CD's, and pin packs that Frank and Gee made. Boxes of merchandise, mainly shirts, were behind the white table on the floor, some of the shirts were hung up for display, and a white piece of paper listed the prices of everything, all typed up and neat.

Frank took a few minutes to sign a few copies of the album, drew a few Sweetpeas on them, and mixed them in with the rest of the records so it was a fair chance for everyone to get one. The band all got a round of shots to down before the show, sort of a pre-show ritual they had. 

Before the guests were allowed into the venue, Frank and the rest of the crew went back to the dressing room to rest a little and get prepared for the big show, bowls of snacks were laid out on the table, the mini fridge was stocked with Gatorade and ice cold water, along with a kettle and various types of tea to soothe a sore throat. 

"Hey Frank, can I get a bottle of water?" Anthony asked, his son in his lap. 

"Oh yeah, sure." the older twin moved over to open the fridge, he took a bottle of water in his hands, opened it up, took a sip, spit it back into the bottle, twisted the cap back on, and then threw it over to Anthony.

"That's freaking gross," He nearly gagged. "You are insane if you think I'm drinking this, maybe throw it out to that crowd of teenage girls, they'll go bonkers over that."

"God no. You know what they can do with that? Take my DNA, make a copy of me, and sooner or later there will be 50 Frank Iero's running around this Earth. I am not risking that, plus they can catch whatever illness is chillin' out in my bummed immune system." 

"Cmon, no F-Bombs around my kid. Remember, his mind is like a sponge. But, you're right, Milo has told me some wild experiences with fans. This one girl flashed him her boobs and wanted them to be signed."

"Thank God no one has done that, I would give her a free shirt just to cover em' up, we're anti-boobs." 

"That should be our tag line." Matt suggested, a fruit punch Gatorade in his hand. "Frank Iero and the Cellabration : anti-boob, please don't flash us."

"Ha! That's golden, it's also a great idea. Might have to print that on a t-shirt or something." Frank sat on the floor next to Gee, he had one arm around her and the other held a bottle of water. The opening band was still playing - it was a smaller band like Social Distortion, but their sound was great and seemed to have a lot of potential as a band. 

The Cellabration had about an hour still before they were due to come on stage, so they spent it in the back room, talking, snacking, and drinking. Photos were taken of them all hanging out, a group photo was taken and posted to Frank's Instagram, the caption, "Tonight's our night Belleville....6pm doors, we're on at 8pm. xoxofrnk&thecellabration." typed below it.

"Let's go over the setlist one more time." Frank said, a paper in his hand. "We're opening with, All I Want, then it's Blood Infections, Smoke Rings, Tragician, Stitches, Joyriding, Party, Neverenders, Weighted, Stage 4, and then Where Do We Belong?" 

"No, Party is before Joyriding." Evan said. 

"Really? We usually do it after Joyriding. What if, instead of Neverenders, we added Guilt Tripping? We know how to play it." 

"Oh fuck, yeah! We can do that, last minute changes are the best changes. Here's a pen, make sure to write it on all of the setlists so none of us end up playing Neverenders while the others are doing 32." Matt replied. 

"Anthony, did you get the headphones for Ky?" Frank asked, turning to face his twin. 

"Yes! Jamia gave them to me." 

"Mouse, how long until it's time for you to go on?" Gee asked him, peering down at her black watch.

"Just a few minutes."

"Okay, I'm going to run to the bathroom really quickly before it starts, I'll be back." 

"Fuck that reminds me, I have to piss." He groaned, the anxiety that settled in always made him have to piss nearly 5 times before each set, and it was always right before they were due to go on stage. They both left the room, yet someone in the room thought they had other plans that were less innocent. 

Frank was in one bathroom, while Gee was in the other. Even though she peed a lot and quite often, Frank ended up being in the bathroom for much longer than her, every He was about to leave the bathroom, he had to pee again, it happened every time before a show. Just nerves and excitement, and maybe a little bit too much pre show water. 

Then, it was go time. The band got together just on the side of the stage, huddled together as they prepared for the show. Gee kissed Frank and whispered words of encouragement, which meant so much to him, she mattered most to him. They kissed one last time before they ran out on stage, the intro to All I Want soon began to play. 

The girls, boys, and non binary friends in the crowd screamed in excitement when Frank came out, their eyes lit up as they jumped around to the music. Gee watched Frank as he played, her heart swelled so much watching him do what he loved the most, preforming was his dream and she felt so lucky to be able to see him live that out. She saw the crowd snap photos, record videos, and sing along to the music that he created. She herself also might've pulled out her own phone to take a photo or two of her husband. 

Song after song was played, all preformed with Frank's entire heart and soul, they all sounded incredible, he jumped around the stage wildly and spat water like a fountain into the crowd, either it was water or copious amounts of saliva. Sweat droplets flung from his locks like rain, the stage lights and the heat building up from the energy made the area feel like it was over one hundred degrees. Though he did have some coldish bottles of water by the drums in case he needed a drink. 

Stitches had just finished, which meant that She's The Prettiest Girl was next. Now, it was not like how it typically was, they wouldn't go straight into the song, Frank had a little speech plan right before the song would begin, he planned that, but he didn't plan his wife crying. 

"So, this next song is very special tonight. It's called "She's the Prettiest Girl At The Party, And She Can Prove It With A Solid Right Hook". I wrote this song back in college for my wife, she is really the love of my life, my best friend, and the mother of my children that have yet to be born." He said, a smile on his face, his cheeks turned pink as he talked. "What makes this more special, is that my wife is here tonight, she's over there. Uh, so, I would really appreciate it if you know all of the words, sing this as loud as you can. Jiggy, this goes out to you." 

Frank looked over at her, winked and blew her a kiss. The audience roared at that, they found it to be utterly adorable and meaningful that Gee was right there with the band, supporting them. Gee had tears in her eyes from happiness, the built up emotion of watching Frank play and then getting hit with that made tears form in her gorgeous eyes. With every word that he sang with his entire heart, the crowd sang it back louder, all for Gee.

That's who she was having her babies with, who she was spending the rest of her life with and God, was she lucky. Gee thought it was incredible to hear a song that Frank wrote for her, almost ten years prior, sung by over one hundred people. But most importantly by her husband.

She continued to watch the performance, singing along to the songs that he sang with that gorgeous voice of his. Confetti exploded during the final song, thousands of little pieces of black and baby pink confetti fell from the sky. Ending the show for the Cellabration, that night in Belleville was over but Frank and the band still had many, many more shows to complete before they were done, the fun was just getting started. 

\- 

Frank and the other members of the band had gone outside of the venue to meet some fans, they brought little gifts, candy, and notes for the band as a token of gratitude for the band. Since Frank had recently announced the pregnancy, a teenage girl had brought hand-knitted baby beanies for the triplets, they were black and had Frank's symbol on the back of them. It warmed his heart and made him immensely happy, he hugged the girl and made sure that she knew that her gift was very appreciated. 

Other things such as candy, art pieces, and letters were all given to the members of the bands. It was one of Frank's favorite parts of the show because it allowed him to connect a little more with those who support him and the band. He and the others stayed outside for a good hour and a half before they figured it was time to leave, they had dinner and a movie to still catch that evening. Frank said his goodbyes and thanked everyone for coming, then himself, and the others got into their cars and drove to the restaurant they planned to dine at.

It was a very upscale vegetarian restaurant near Newark, right around where the Drive-In was. The evening was spent in good company, laughter, good conversation, delicious food and drinks, and a night under the stars with the ones that they love. Frank and Gee sat together in her car, shared snacks and watched the movie they've seen nearly a hundred times already, and savored those precious moments of just the two of them together, the time of that was ticking down rapidly.


	35. Not Cherry!

may 13th, 2010 

On the morning of May 13th, 2010, Frank Iero woke up from a deep slumber with his wife missing from his bed. The only thing left of her was a mountain of pillows that kept her very uncomfortable body, comfortable. Mitch was gone, too, he wasn't heard meowing so Gee wasn't in trouble, but it begged the question of what she was up to.

Frank crawled out from under the covers, slipped a pair of his bunny slippers on and made sure to have something on that covered his business to avoid accidentally flashing Anthony again. The house was dark, he used a small flashlight he kept in his high stand to guide his way down to the first floor, he looked to her office and found no sign of her, and the last resort was their kitchen.

The lights downstairs were on, just in the hall and kitchen. He turned his flashlight off and nearly hissed by the blinding light, his eyes barely adjusted just yet. The area outside and inside the kitchen was blistering cold, Frank instantly started shivering at the temperature. 

He saw that the freezer door was open, and Gee's legs visible from below the door. 

"Jiggy, what are you doing?" He asked, teeth chattering. He rubbed his arms with his hands, trying to warm himself up.

"Frankie?" She poked her head out from the freezer, "it's so fucking hot in our house, I tried sleeping but I felt like I was in the oven, baking like a loaf of pumpernickel bread."

"So you're standing in our freezer? We have air conditioning, you know."

"I know, it's not nearly as cold enough as our freezer. Fuck, this heat is fucking brutal, are you hot?"

"Not really. It's actually quite cold, but maybe the babies are making your body really hot." He placed a hand on her back, "Why don't we go back to bed, and I'll rummage through the basement for a fan? My nipples are harder than I'd like them to be at this moment."

"What if I like, brought a fuck ton of these ice packs up to bed with me and laid with them? Constant cooling, and then you won't get too cold, your poor nipples." She took about four ice packs from their freezer, an idea in her mind that could solve both of their issues.

"My nipples will be fine, just as long as you're content. It's the asscrack of dawn and you my lady, have a doctor's appointment tomorrow."

"Oh fuck, don't remind me. I have to drink this god awful sugary drink for a fucking glucose test, even thinking about it makes me want to hurl."

"Is that why you keep thinking about it? You emetophilac." He giggled, closing the freezer door. "I feel like I'm always catching you in our kitchen at ungodly hours of the night. Eating, sleeping, or chillin' out in our freezer like a frozen burrito."

"I'm eight months pregnant with your children, remember? They demand things at random times, even if it's four in the morning; I'll get out of bed and drink pickle juice and coffee because they want it."

"Ew, pregnancy cravings are disgusting." He groaned. 

"Actually, some of them are quite delicious. Ice cream, cranberries, and some peanut butter."

"You had me up until the cranberries. How can you even eat so many? They're bitter, only good in a vodka cranberry or cranberry sauce on Thanksgiving."

"Don't attack my cranberries like that. They're delicious, fuck. I'm just sad that when my pregnancy is over, I won't like them anymore because the babies are making me want them."

"If you aren't sick of them by then. It's almost over though, less than a month to go! Let's make a countdown, like one of those advent calendars Catholics have around Christmas."

"With pairs of little baby socks! Harry Potter, cats, cacti!" 

"Yes. I can swing by the mall tomorrow and pick up a lot of socks, that maternity place you've shopped for your other pregnancy clothing. Are they comfortable?" Frank asked.

"Very, but I miss my skinny jeans, like real fucking bad. Like my jeans that make my ass look good." She said, a small smile on her face. 

"The fuck are you talking about? Your ass always looks good."He smirked, his left hand went down and slapped her ass. Gee gasped and blushed, she nearly dropped the ice pack that was in her hands. 

Mitch looked up at them and meowed, the small noise startled him. Frank and Gee merely giggled at that, Mitch still followed them to their bedroom, a little on the edge that a loud noise would startled him again. They had to be quiet going back to their room, as Anthony was still sleeping back in the guest bedroom with his son. 

Their doors were gently closed behind them and a lamp was flicked on, Frank stripped from his clothing, his bunny slippers, and then jumped into bed, wrapping himself in a cocoon of fluffy blankets as he waited for Gee. She went into their bathroom to wipe her face with cold water to cool herself down, she was tempted to take a cold shower but that would take too much effort when she was already tired, so she opted for the easier solution. The window in her room was open, the ceiling fan was on and she had a cooling pillow specifically for pregnant women that struggled with heat flashes. 

Gee came out of the bathroom wearing a sports bra and a pair of boxers that were thin so she didn't overheat throughout the night. The room must've been at most 65° but still didn't feel cold enough for her, Frank felt like he was trapped inside of an Igloo in nothing but his Banana boxers. 

"Mouse, it's okay, I can deal with the heat, I don't want you to be too cold." She said as she sat on her side of the bed, legs crossed with a bottle of lotion in her hands. It was this cream that she had been using since the beginning of her pregnancy, it was to reduce the stretch marks on her tummy, especially since she had many babies inside of her.

"I'm not the pregnant one here, you come first. Plus, this weighted blanket is like, the foil that keeps a burrito warm, or like, those things that go on a hot pocket, I'm quite content."

"You're all swaddled like a baby, my sweet baby."she smiled, "My sweet babies."

"Speaking of swaddling, we should practice so we can swaddle our own babies. It's like a burrito."

"Sweetheart, are you hungry? This is the third time you've mentioned a burrito within a half an hour." 

"I could go for a burrito. Like the kind at Taco Bell that they should market as "Bur-weed-o" cus you'd only eat them when you're high." His giggle tired, he wiggled underneath the blankets. "Gee, your belly has gotten so big, I remember when they were just little blueberries inside of you."

"It doesn't feel like they're blueberries anymore. They're the size of pineapples, but that begs the question, including the leaves without? Because the leaves have a significant amount of length to them."

"Let's day with the leaves, they're big babies. Does it hurt? Like, your belly, because like, it looks like it does, it's filled with humans and a lot of fluid."

"Sometimes. It's a lot of weight just there, it makes me back hurt like a motherfucker, my hips always hurt, everything hurts. Even sex hurts, I didn't think being pregnant would make sex hurt."She said as she put the bottle of lotion back on her nightstand. 

"Well, give it like, two months and we'll be back to fucking like rabbits again." Frank poked his arm out from the blankets to put his hand on Gee's side, she laid on the bed facing him, a pregnancy pillow divided them. "You know what's cool about having like, five blankets on top of you?"

"What's that?"

"You can't tell if I have a boner or not. So you'll have to find out on your own." A slight smirk was on his face, he bit his lower lip. 

"The fuck did you get a boner from? Does rubbing lotion on my belly turn you on?" She giggled a little.

"Absolutely not, my dick probably knows that we won't be screwing for a while so he gets excited, he gets excited around you." 

"You're adorable." she placed a soft kiss to his button nose, "I think the triplets and I should get some sleep, as should you and The Universe, yeah?"

"Don't forget to kiss him goodnight."

"Henry? He's still inside of me."

"No. The universe."

"Goodnight, Frankie." She rolled her eyes, then kissed his cheek. She adjusted herself with her pillows, then closed her eyes to sleep. Frank started at her for a few moments, then whispered her name, she muttered a what?, to which Frank responded with so are you like, maybe up to a blowjob? I've got cherry lube.

Gee's eyes opened and quirked an eyebrow, unsure if he was being serious in regards to a blowjob or not. Frank looked at her, then reached underneath his pillow for the bottle of cherry flavored lube and handed it to her, she smiled slightly, accepted the bottle, then sat up.

Frank turned on his bedside lamp, and moved the covers aside, exposing his bare lower half. When he told Gee that she wouldn't know if he had a boner or not, because of all of the blankets, Frank didn't have a boner at the time, but the thought of sex just aroused him. He also had a habit of getting a hard on when Gee was around him. 

Gee leaned over him, her dainty fingers grazed the soft, sensitive skin of his hard penis, they traced around the curve over the head. Frank sucked in a sharp breath at the small touches, his body craved more with each second that passed. Following a small click of the bottle of the lube, a generous amount of cherry flavored lube was squirted onto his cock. 

"That's it." He whispered, one hand went to her hair, brushing it out of her face. She bit her lip, then took a hold of him, her hand almost too small for the girth. Her hand started by jacking him off slowly, spreading the pink tinted lubricant around. Her hand twisted as she pumped him, his cock twitched underneath her touch and hardened, glistened with the lube and a small amount of precum that wept from the tip. 

Frank moaned softly when she squeezed his cock tightly, the dull pain sent electricity through his short body. The soft flesh of his bottom lip was bit to silence a moan that bubbled in his throat, the last thing they needed was to be heard by the other guests in their home. His hand tugged softly at her hair as a non verbal way to ask that she used her beautiful, talented, warm mouth instead of her hand. With a few, quick jerks, she pulled her lube covered hand away from him then quickly brought it back down to slap his cock, the sudden pain shot through him, he gasped and jerked at the pleasure. 

She snickered devilishly at that, her own arousal peaked. With her hand, she grabbed the base of his cock as she leaned down, her lips kissed the tip of his cock before they wrapped around it, she sucked on the tip and pressed her wet tongue against him. 

"Son of a bitch," he groaned, the grip on her hair tightened. His eyes slipped shut then his head tilted back into the pillows, the only sense was the sense of touch. Warmth bubbled inside of him as she slowly sunk down, inch by inch she swallowed his cock. Drool mixed with the sweet lube on him, the sweetness flooded her mouth, she savored the delicious flavor.

Gee moaned around him, the vibrations shot through his cock and throughout his body, the pleasure gradually built for him. The tip of his cock hit the back of her throat as it slid down, his head spun with pleasure, his toes curled and hips bucked up into her mouth. Her gentle hand went to his halls, she massaged, and squeezed them tightly, doing everything that she knew drove Frank absolutely insane.

"That's it, fuck, Gee-" it came out as a whine, his breathing turned into pants as his orgasm quickly approached. "Can - fuck, can you go faster?" 

Gee hummed and quickly sped up, she twisted her head as she bobbed her head. Her hand around the shaft below her mouth, stroking as she sucked harshly. The room was filled with Frank's noises of pleasure, and the copious amounts of precum that leaked out of his coco and into her mouth, the bittersweet flavor seeped into her tongue. Frank took hold of her hair tighter, and thrusted his hips up into her mouth, fucking her throat roughly. She kept her hands on his hips for stability.

"That filthy fucking mouth, god dammit." He moaned. "Gee, I'm going to fucking cum, holy shit." he warned her, his eyes looked at the gorgeous sight in front of him. Her lips red and shiny with saliva, she gagged around him and had salty tears in her eyes. 

Frank continued to fuck her throat roughly, rough enough that she would surely not have a voice tomorrow and a sore throat. The warmth and wetness of her mouth envelopes his cock and made his fucking head spin with raw pleasure, when she gagged, her throat tightened around him. Her teeth scrapped against the skin of his cock, just how he liked it.

With a few more thrusts of his hips, Frank's hips stilled, his balls stiffened and released, the grip on her hair became incredibly strong as spurts of white, hot, orgasmic wax shot into the back of her throat. Frank groaned, gasped and cursed as he came, he stopped moving his hips but Gee kept sucking and jerking him off through his orgasm, her mouth full of his cum. 

Broken moans came from his mouth, followed by soft whines as his orgasm slowly died down and was left with the feeling of ecstasy and relief. Gee slowly backed off, her mouth cane off of his cock with a soft pop and a string of fluid connected her swollen lips to the tip of his cock.  
\-   
Gee wiped her mouth with the back of her hand, gasping to catch her breath. Frank's hands shook and his hips still twitched, he muttered a string of fuck underneath his breath as he cane down from his high. 

"Better?" Gee asked. She brushed a strand of Frank's hair behind his ear, then kissed his button nose. 

"Much. Thank you, darling." He said, still limp on the bed. "Lay down and take those boxers off, it's my turn, I wanna taste you, you're probably so fucking wet." 

"Mouse, it's okay. We've gotta be awake early and like, you know, it takes a little longer for me to get there and I have this big belly and I'm just not like, just as whorish as I used to be. And - And orgasms make Braxton Hicks happen-"

"Gee." Frank cut her off. 

"What?"

"I know exactly how to get you off, and quickly."

"How? And like I said, you don't have to, I wanted it to be about you."

Frank said nothing, rather, he bent over his side of the bed, pulled out a black, rather large box and selected a rather large toy from the box. He plugged the cord into the power strip next to his bed, then clicked the button on the toy. 

"This guy." He showed it off to Gee, a frisky look on his face. The soft buzzing sound startled her a little. She looked at it and bit her lip, contemplating which route to take, sure she was aroused by pleasuring Frank and hearing those beautiful noises he made, the only downside was that she would have to deal with Braxton Hicks contractions following an orgasm. However, she had precious moments left with Frank before he left for tour, 

With one look that they exchanged, consent was sent from Gee to Frank. Frank leaned over to where she was, opened her legs with his left hand, and then stuck the toy over her boxers.   
-  
The next morning came sooner than they had hoped. Gee's morning sickness was brutal that morning, another bloody nose came, their pipes filled with vomit, and her stomach grumbled in pain. 

"Henry, kid, I love you but stop doing this on important days!" She groaned, she flicked the part of her stomach she believed Henry was at. A wave of nausea came over her as she tried to dress, the morning sickness wasn't gone just yet despite the amount she had vomited. 

"He does it because he knows you like vomit, he knows you so well already." 

"I'd rather not vomit on my clean clothing, or at all before my doctor's appointment, that fucking drink is making me nauseous as it is - Kristin warned me, it's disgusting, pure sugar water."

"Remind me again, what is the test for? My cum has a lot of sugar, just suck my dick a lot before the appointment and we should be good to go." It was a joke, to lighten her irritated mood a little. 

"Very funny. I don't that they can test my blood glucose level using the sugar from your cum - and god why the fuck won't this fucking shirt button?! I just bought this, it was the biggest size they had at the maternity store. For fucks sake, I'm pregnant with triplets! What size shirt do I have to wear? A fucking parachute?"

"Let me check the tag. Is it possible you're trying to wear a shirt that you owned previous to getting pregnant?""

"No. I have my closet organized into two sections, maternity clothes and not maternity clothes. "

"You, organized? Gee, I've known you for so long and never once have I seen you organize, you live like a pack rat."

"Me? Why the fuck do you think I call you Mouse? We have mice in our garage because you have so much shit in there, but then again, so do I." she sighed, still struggling to get the buttons done on her blouse. 

Frank came over and pulled the tag from the back of her shirt, "Darling, this...this isn't a maternity shirt. You've picked the wrong one."

"Son of a bitch. Well no wonder why it wouldn't close, but I swear to god I picked up the one that's maternity?" She groaned and took the shirt off, only dressed in a baby pink pleated skirt and a heather grey maternity bra. "Fucking pregnancy brain."

"Watch it with the swearing, our babies will come out of your vagina saying Fuck." 

"I don't swear that much."

"You got us banned from a restaurant due to excessive swearing, remember?"" 

"Well they spilled my coke on my leather pants! Leather pants are expensive." she groaned and pulled out the maternity shirt. Frank was right, Gee had a tendency to swear excessively, regardless of the matter and it was something she had to work on to avoid her children swearing just as bad as she did, Frank too, he swore quite a lot like his wife. 

Frank merely snickered at that, and kissed her cheek softly. Though still irritated, Gee smiled a little and blushed, her hands worked to fix the buttons on her white blouse - the correct white blouse, not the one that fit her eight months prior. Marched with shoes that also were two sizes larger than she normally wore, an unnecessary purchase of Dr. Marten shoes in a size that won't fit her once the pregnancy was over. 

Frank, the lucky bastard that didn't have the ability to become pregnant, could wear any of his old clothing and have it still fit him. For example, a Butthole Surfers shirt, cargo shorts, and checkered vans that continued to fit him.

They met with Anthony for a cup of coffee prior to leaving for the appointment, but Gee was not allowed to drink coffee before her test so she opted for a tall glass of ice water. During that time, Anthony was on the phone with Milo for a good portion of the time; and Kyle secretly fed little bits of what he didn't want to eat, to Sweetpea underneath the table. 

Anthony didn't notice, and didn't notice even after he ended the call with his husband and applauded Kyle for finishing nearly all of his breakfast, then rewarded him with a oatmeal raisin cookie from the R2D2 cookie jar on the counter. Frank kept his nephew's secret as any other Uncle would, and enjoyed a cookie with his partner in crime. 

It was soon time for them to leave for Gee's doctors appointment. Anthony wanted to join them so he could see the babies, but Gee had told him that the appointment was just a test, but would show him a recent photo of the babies from a previous ultrasound when they returned back to the house. Anthony understood, and said that he was going to take his son, and the dogs to the park while they're at the doctors appointment. Frank suggested they met up at this vegan ice cream parlor down the road from the house on their way home, but Anthony he said that he would pick up some ice cream so Gee would have time to rest. 

Gee gave Anthony a big hug before they left, he was her best friend and she was incredibly thankful for him being there for her and Frank, and Anthony insisted that's what he was there for and he knew she'd do the same for him. Time was slipping away, so they had to make their goodbye's sweet and short in order to make the appointment on time. 

-  
With less than 10 minutes to spare, they made it to Gee's doctors appointment. It took a while for her to be taken back, as there were many patients in the waiting room awaiting to be seen. Though she was taken back late, they still were on time for the test itself.

"Alright, Mrs.Iero, this is a highly sugary drink, it's glucose. You'll need to drink this very quickly and drink all of it, after that, we will let you rest for a few minutes and then we'll take your blood and do the test, sound good?" Dr. Emmet explained, he held a chilled sugary drink in his hand. 

"Yeah. That's fine, but what if I puke?"

"Then we'll have to redo it. Do you have a flavor preference? We have orange, cherry, grape, strawberry, and unflavored."

"Cherry. Only because Cherry is the name we picked for one of our daughters, and she's the only one that hasn't made me vomit yet so I'm having faith that this won't either."

"That's infallible logic." He snickered as he swapped out the drink. "But that's a very beautiful name, have you chosen names for the others?" 

"Lillian, and I think we'll be going with Henry for our son, but we're really indecisive about it, it's naming a human, we have to find the perfect one."

"When my wife gave birth to our daughter, we didn't decide on her name until right before they were discharged from the hospital. It takes time, but you'll find it, once you meet the little rascal, it'll come to you." he said with a smile, reassuring Gee that finding a name shouldn't be rushed, and carefully thought out. 

"I'll be back in 15 minutes to check on you, be careful not to spill any of it."

"Noted." Gee nodded. And the doctor left the room, he closed the door behind him, leaving Gee and Frank in the room.

Gee stared at the bottle and groaned, dreading the first sip of pure sugar. "I don't eat sweets often, sure I'm a sucker for gummies and jelly and beans, but holy shit. Kristin told me it's like the liquid sugar they use at Starbucks but way sweeter."

"Can I lick the cap?" He asked. 

"If you want all of your teeth to have cavities, go ahead." She said. She twisted the cap off of a bottle that was a little smaller than a water bottle, handed the white cap to Frank and brought the bottle up to her nose, smelling it. 

She muttered an oh fuck me at the overly sweet smell, she shivered at the slightest scent and prepared herself to down the entire thing, just to get it over and done with. Frank was first to lick the cap, he said that it wasn't as sweet as she thought it was, like Kool Aid almost. Gee doubted it, but sighed, and quickly began drinking the cherry flavored drink.

An obvious face of disgust was present, her eyebrows furrowed together and eyes were closed. She tried to drink that sucker as fast as she could, it was unbearably sweet and disgusting, the cherry flavor seemed to make the drink even sweeter than it was. 

Gee sucked down the rest of it, she groaned, slammed her fist down on the counter, and stomped her foot on the floor, "Motherfucker!"

"Are you-"

"Frank I'm going to fucking puke, oh god." she gagged and threw the plastic bottle on the ground. Her stomach twisted and churned, the sickening taste lingered on her tongue. 

Frank grabbed a trash can from next to the door, and slid it over to where Gee was, she took it in her hands and rested it on her lap. She gagged violently, but willed herself to not vomit because she would have to drink that all over again. Frank rubbed her back in order to comfort her. 

Emmet came in very soon, he saw the sight of Gee with her head buried in a trash can and her husband trying to comfort her. The first thing he asked was that if she drank all of the drink, and Gee replied with a groan of disgust.

"That's a typical response." He snickered. "Did you vomit?"

"No. Not yet."

"Well hold it if you can, we're going to take your blood now - I probably shouldn't have said that, you're terrified of needles, aren't you?" He asked, a alcohol swab in his hand and a tray of supplies next to him. Gee stuck her thumb up.

"That's right. Can you stick your arm our for me?" Emmett asked her, and she stuck out her left arm for him; her right hand was secured around the trash can. He cleaned off the area with the swab, and prick her with the needle, she whined and jerked at the sudden pinch. Not only was she on the verge of vomiting, but she had a fucking needle in her arm, taking her blood.

"It's okay, Jiggy, you'll be just fine." Frank whispered, his hand continued to rub her back. He watched the doctor take her blood, so he could warn her when it was all done.

Three vials of blood were filled up and placed on the tray, he pulled the needle out and covered the small wound with a Cinderella bandaid. He told her that she was all done, and she replied with an unamused goodie. 

Emmett told her that they would contact her later on when the results of the test, and that she could go back home and rest. Frank helped her up; her face was more pale than it was and she had an overall sick look to her face. Frank thought she still looked cute, despite the circumstances. He helped her out of the office and into the car, she was still miserable and walking made it worse, she just needed to be in a dark room with her fan, some soda crackers and ginger ale to settle her tummy, and she would be just fine.   
-  
Thirty minutes later, they made it back to the house. Gee's belly settled down a little, but she still felt like vomiting and it was on a hair trigger, if she smelt something that she didn't like or she thought of something she didn't like, she would surely vomit.

Anthony had been back at the house for a little while, his car was parked in the driveway where it usually was. Gee went into the house quickly, she just wanted to lay down for a while and get her ducks in a row before she thought of anything else.

"Auntie Gee!" Kyle greeted her, he saw her from his seat in the kitchen. He had an ice cream cone in his hand, so he waved at her with the other. 

"Hey, bud." She replied, one hand was on her belly. 

"Daddy bought me ice cream with sprinkles!" The boy exclaimed, ice cream and sprinkles on his face. 

"I see."

"How did your appointment go? Everything all good with the babies?"

"Just peachy. I think that I'm going to lay down, that stupid drink really messed with me."

"I'm sorry to hear that. I brought you ice cream, they didn't have anything cranberry - I don't even think that exists, but they had Cherry Garcia ice cream and I know you like that." Anthony said, he pulled out a container of Cherry Garcia ice cream from the freezer. 

"Oh god." She gagged, her stomach grumbled and turned. Gee scurried to the bathroom down the hall and closed the door.

Anthony was confused because he thought that Gee liked cherry ice cream. Frank came in just seconds later, Anthony asked him if Gee was alright and Frank said she was a little nauseous. Anthony mentioned that he had bought Cherry Garcia ice cream back for Gee, and at the mention, she ran off to the bathroom. Frank had to explain to Anthony what happened at the doctors appointment and how horrible that drink was, which happened to be cherry flavored and her vomit reflex was on a hair trigger.

Anthony immediately felt immensely guilty, but Frank assured him that it was alright and that he didn't know. Frank thought that it was sort of a good thing because her vomiting might relive her nausea, so in a way he was thankful that Anthony brought out the Cherry Garcia.

Frank did go to check on his wife, she was doing better just as he had hoped. He found her rising her mouth out with water to get rid of the horrible taste in her mouth. He told her to go upstairs to get some rest, and he would bring up some crackers to settle her stomach, and maybe they could all camp out in their room and watch a movie. 

Gee was on board with the idea, to have a little family night with her nephew, husband, and brother in law, and the pets, she couldn't forget about their sweet pets. Frank did, however, have to run up to the mall to purchase socks for their little "Countdown until the birth" calendar, possibly pick up dinner, rent a few movies from Blockbuster, and then return back to the home for a relaxing evening with his family. 

Anthony and Kyle went up to Gee's room to comfort her and chill out for a little, Anthony brought her a glass of ice water and a sleeve of soda crackers, the animals followed him up to her room and laid on the bed. Gee and Anthony talked the things they needed to catch up on but didn't seem to have the time, everything from Anthony's life in Los Angeles to the up and coming career of Gee's.

Within that conversation, Anthony mentioned that he and Milo had been discussing moving back to New Jersey once he was finished with Starlight, the movie he had been working on for a while. He thought it would be a good idea to be close to home where they could raise their son. Gee supported the idea, she thought it would be a great idea for Anthony to come back home for a while, spend time with the family, come back to his roots. Frank was excited to hear about the news when he returned home, he really love for Anthony to be back in Jersey, for him to be around his children as they grew up, and to makeup for the lost time when Anthony was off the grid.

That movie night in the bedroom was just the start of what could happen when Anthony returned to New Jersey,but the sweet moment that night would quickly turned into something less. Frank had to leave in two days for tour, and Gee didn't quite know how to process that, she had to be strong and focus on getting through the last few weeks of her pregnancy, keeping those babies safe was her main priority but by god she would miss her husband. She just had to power through it and know Frank would be back soon, and she had his identical twin to hang out with.

The countdown until the babies were born officially started, and Frank and his wife would have to count it down separately, from two different counties but they would surely make it work.


	36. Cry Yourself To Sleep

May 15, 2010 | 3 weeks until the due date 

There's way too much on my mind  
To give you all my time  
But I know there's something wrong  
There's no justice in photographs  
Such lovely eyes you have  
That cry yourself to sleep

It finally came. 

The day that Gee and Frank both dreaded. The day where Frank was going to board a plane to New England to begin tour with his band, and to make it worse, due to the stage in Gee's pregnancy, she wasn't able to join them and had to be be on very strict bed rest to ensure that she did not go into premature labor. There was no loophole they could find, it was for the safety of Gee and her babies, that wasn't negotiable. It just had to be dealt with, Frank would be home soon but those three weeks would be so hard to handle, without him, his touch, his laugh, just him in general. 

Sure, Anthony would be there to keep her company but Gee couldn't kiss him or cuddle him or treat him the way she treated Frank, things like Skype and SMS still existed but they just weren't the same. God, Gee thought, they never were apart for that long ever, for 7 years they've never gone that long without each other so they knew it would be a struggle.

Frank was set to leave at 7:30 P.M, his flight didn't depart until 9:30 but it was good that he arrived at the airport early to get things situated with his passport and luggage. The night prior, Gee wanted to spend as much time with him as she could, they stayed in their bedroom for the majority of the day, cuddled, watched movies, maybe fooled around once or twice, those last few hours counted so much for them. 

Gee made a little goodie bag for Frank to take on tour with him. Inside the bag was a photo of their babies, some of Frank's favorite candy, some tea to help with his throat, a bottle of scotch, and a polariod of herself and Frank for him to stick inside of his bunk. She wished she could send more with him, but she didn't know what. 

The morning of that day, Gee woke up early to make Frank breakfast in bed, with the help of Anthony and Kyle. She made him chocolate chip waffles with a side of fresh fruit, and a hot cup of coffee in a mug with Morrissey on the front. She had to choke back tears because she knew it would be a very long time before it would be just the two of them, or where she would be able to make him breakfast in bed. Mama and Sweepea were cuddled with him on the bed, 

"So, Frankie, I had an idea." Gee said, her own cup of coffee in her hands. 

"Jiggy, you know what the doctor said, as much as I would love for you to, you can't come to England with us."

"No, that's not it." her tone was a little shy, "I know I'm supposed to be confined to my room but, what if I drove you to the airport? I thought about it last night and like. It's gonna be the last time I see you for a long time so I mean, I figured it would be a good idea." She tapped her fingers against the side of her cup anxiously.

"That's such a rad idea! Is it okay with Emmett? Can you even drive? Like, your belly doesn't get in the way now? "

"Yes, and yes. He called while I was making breakfast about that horrible test, everything is all good, so while I had him in the line I asked, he made an exception for this, just as long as I don't hop on that plane."

"Sweet! Fuck, I'll let the band members know. We were all gonna take the shuttle but we can all meet at the airport." 

"Jamia is coming, too, she's coming to take you And the band out for a few drinks in a little bit. So once you're done eating, you should get dressed."

"It's eleven in the morning? I'm all for getting drunk but it's still early, I still haven't taken my morning poop." He said in a pout, his fork picked up a halved strawberry.

"You'll have time. Jamia will be here in forty-five, and while you finish up your breakfast, I'm gonna get my hospital bag ready because Emmett told me to. He said it was a good idea to have it together prior to the due date so we aren't rushing around."

"The fuck do you put in a hospital bag? Don't they have everything at the hospital? Like diapers, clothes, all that good shit."

"that's what I thought! But I pulled up a list and I need to bring my own clothes, clothes for our babies, that kind of stuff." 

"Let me help you! I've been looking forward to this."

"Are you sure? You've gotta eat your breakfast." 

"I can eat and pack your hospital bag." He insisted, he picked up his plate, and his cup of coffee, then jumped out of bed. "Hold on, I'm still naked. How did I forget?" he giggled.

"Because you're always naked, it seems to be your normal but you know what, I'm not complaining."

Frank slipped on his pair of baby blue boxers, picked up his breakfast, and carried it into the nursery, Gee followed behind him, wheeling a black suitcase behind her. She laid it on the floor of the nursery and then pulled out the list from her pocket, staring off with the first item. Clothes for the babies. 

They had to choose a few outfits just Incase of an accident or they end up staying longer than expected. Together they chose outfits for the triplets, for Cherry they chose: a onesie with a cat on the front, one that had Frank's bands' logo on it, and the last was black with white polka dots. For Lily, the onesie with the logo, one that had a bunch of little puppies on it, and the last was a simple, baby pink color. And finally, for their son that they have yet to figure a name for, the same onesie as the girls, a cute little dinosaur onesie that had a little tail and spikes on the back, and the last one was a navy blue one with stars on it.

Bottles were on the list but Gee did not pack them because she was planning on breastfeeding from the start, to continue that bond between her and the babies. Nipple cream was also on the list, for the mommies who chose to breastfeed rather than bottle or formula feed. This cooling spray for her vagina, a robe - which happened to be green with a Slytherin patch on the front. Pajamas were packed, a very long phone charger, a book, some snacks, a reusable water bottle, a very fluffy towel, a nursing bra, some clothes for Frank, and toiletries. 

It took them a while to get everything gathered, but it was done. The suitcase was left in the Nursery so it would be easily accessible when they had to go to the hospital. Frank went back to the bedroom to clean himself up while Gee went downstairs to clean up the mess from breakfast. Jamia showed up in the midst of the cleaning, dressed in shorts, an avail tee, and vans, her hair tied up and bangs rested neatly on her forehead. 

"Hey, Gee. Where's Frank?" Jamia asked as she strolled into the kitchen. 

"Oh, hey Jai. He's upstairs taking his morning poop, he said that he had to do that before he left." 

"Ha!" Jamia laughed, "When we lived together back in the day, that was the first thing he got done in the morning. What a grump he was before his morning poop, some people need coffee, Frank just needs to poop."

"He really is, but like, a cute kind of grumpy. Some things just don't change and that's one of them." she sighed in response, "He should be down soon, can I get you a cup of coffee?"

"No thanks, I have an iced coffee in my car." Jamia respectfully declined the offer, "Frank doesn't know about the party, right?"

"Nope. I want to surprise him and boost his spirits up a little, y'know? It's nothing big, just some streamers, soda, pizza, just stuff for a 'Addio, la cellabration!" Party."

"And that's Italian for...Sorry, I know Spanish." 

"Farewell, The Cellabration!' Frank taught me a little." 

"Ah. I didn't know he knew Italian."

"Well, he's Italian. Linda speaks fluent Italian, he taught me some so I could understand her, but I remember jack shit, except for a few words. Somehow I remember those two."

"Oh yeah, that's right. I don't know how I forgot he was Italian. Anyway, what time do you want him back here?"

"I have to take him to the airport at seven, but I still want him to have time to party, so like, one maybe? Be sure he doesn't get too drunk, because he'll pass the fuck out and I can't take him to the airport."

"You tell me this stuff like I've known him for a little while."

"I just don't think you would remember those little quirks about him. It's been nearly ten years since you guys went out, you know?" Gee said as she dried her hands off with a dish towel. 

"Oh yeah, I totally get it. Frank's not very forgettable, I thought his little quirks were cute and I'll sometimes be reminded of them." Jamia's cheeks blushed a little, her heart ached at the reminder of her dead relationship. She tried to not dwell on it because it wouldn't change, she knew that and she couldn't be playing those childish games anymore. 

Frank came down into the kitchen before anything else happened. He dressed in a Butthole Surfers shirt and denim jeans, the tattoos on his legs were displayed beautifully. He had space for more, and had been planning out a few more. 

"Hey, Jamia!" Frank greeted her. "I hear you're lookin' to get shitfaced and it's not even noon." 

"Just a few drinks, sort of like a celebration for the cellabration on it's first European tour. Afterwards, we'll come back here for lunch, Gee is ordering pizza from that really delicious vegan place in town, then we'll be on our way to the airport."

"Sounds like a plan. Wait, you all have your boarding passes and passports, right? We should get our ducks in a row early on."

"Yep, we're all squared away and ready to roll." She replied, "Cmon, if we wanna make happy hour, we should get moving."

"Great. What bar are we going to? Oh man I hope it's Sherri's down on Lakeside, they have the best cosmopolitan. They always add extra pineapple, it's the fresh pineapple, too, not that canned shit."

"Sherri's it is. I didn't know you liked cosmos? They're a chick drink, Frank."

"So what? It tastes good. I don't have to have a pussy to enjoy a fucking drink, Jamia." He scoffed, he crossed his arms. They all snickered at that, and Jamia rolled her eyes. 

"Anyway. We should get going, the band is waiting down there for us." 

"Shit that's right." Said Frank. He kissed and hugged Gee goodbye, their hug lasted a little longer to savor the moment. Then he and Jamia left the home, they got into her car, and headed off to the bar. 

Gee was left with a funny feeling inside of her gut, something about Jamia's attitude towards Frank just didn't sit well with her. The fact she would be on tour with Frank for three weeks didn't help either, even though it was in the past and Frank would always be faithful towards Gee, she just didn't know what Jamia had on her agenda. She needed to talk about it, Anthony was at the house and could give her the right advice and the words she needed to hear. 

Anthony came down to the kitchen with a box full of decorations, he first asked if the coast was clear before he came in just to be sure that the surprise wasn't ruined. Gee gave him the all clear for him to come in, so they could soon begin setting everything up. 

"Anthony, can we talk about something? My pregnant mind just be out of control but god, it's driving me a little crazy." she asked, a wheel of blue streamers in her hands. 

"Of course, what's up?"

"You know that Jamia is going on tour with Frank and the band, to take photos of the shows and of them, but something just gives me this feeling that Jamia will try and sink her claws into Frank because I won't be around. Am I crazy for thinking that? Obviously I trust Frank, I just don't know if I can trust Jamia yet. "

"You aren't crazy, I wouldn't trust her either. She, oh man, she used to have such a hold on Frank back in high school. They were inseparable, but Frank's been with you for like a million years and Jamia has her own life, I'm sure she wouldn't try and use her charms on him again, Frank's not stupid, like, yeah he's a fucking idiot sometimes but he's not stupid in that kind of way,"

"Remember at Linda's Christmas party, she kept caressing his thigh and making passes at him? Lord knows what she's doing behind my back, probably has a fucking dildo named after him."

"Jamia, she's just, I think she has a hard time letting go of Frank. But that's something she's gonna have to do, you've been married for years and you have babies on the way, Jamia's chances with him ended when they broke up. It's obvious Frank loves you and he wouldn't throw all of this away for her, you know he would immediately cut ties with her if she tried some dumb shit."

"You're right. I'm just kind of like, I don't know, I get scared when she's around sometimes because she's like a ticking time bomb. I don't know if she's going to snap at me for being with him or what, I know she and Frank are friends now but you know how she is."

"Like I said, Frank's not an idiot. He's a good boy, he would tell you if something happened." He continued. "I worry about Milo sometimes, he's a Hollywood actor, he's around gorgeous men on a daily basis but I know he isn't a dumbass. He even has my name tattooed on his ass, it's like a farmer and his cows."

"Hold on, you're a top? I'm sure you were a bottom."

"What the fuck made you think I was a bottom? Frank's the bottom here, he's probably topped once and that was to create your children."

Gee's cheeks blushed at that, they burned a bright pink. "Shut up." She mumbled, her voice a little lower than normal. "Anyway, thank you for like, you know, not making me think that I was crazy for thinking that about Jamia."

"No problem, Gee, you know I'm here for you to talk to. Still a little offended that you think I'm a bottom, though."

"Fuck off." She snickered, as did Anthony. They moved on from that topic of discussion and continued to decorate their home for the party. It was sort of like an homage to the party Frank threw on New Years just for her. Though it wasn't as special as the one he threw, Frank would surely appreciate and love it very much. He would love it if it was just a cheap sheet cake and kool aid, because that's the type of man he was.   
\- 

Sherri's bar was a place Frank loved to go to, it had amazing music, drinks, food, and the best atmosphere to get absolutely shitfaced at any time during the day. Frank, Jamia, and the band sat at a booth in the corner of the bar, the lights were dark and their table had an arrangement of drinks on it. 

"Frank, you're on your second cosmopolitan." Jamia said, "Why don't we order you a snack? Soft pretzels sound delicious, or fried pickles or onion rings."

"I'll be just fine, I ain't no pussy ass lightweight like you."

"Ouch. Sick burn." Evan chimed in, a beer in his hand. 

"But I'd love some onion rings, we can like, order a big ass basket and share them. I like them how I like my women, soaked in beer and battered." He said then giggled, "what the fuck, I asked for no toothpick! My drink is ruined now, son of a bitch."

"What the fuck is wrong with a toothpick? It's a piece of wood."

"I hate that feeling more than anything. I'm ordering a new drink." he groaned, he took the wooden toothpick out of the drink and flung it on the table.

"You took it out, your drink is fine, Frank."

"No it's not! The wood tainted it, I ain't drinking that shit anymore." 

"I'll order you a new one. Matt and Ed will come with me, we're gonna order some snacks while we're up there. Jamia, can I get you a refill on your Mai Tai?"

"Yes please." She handed Evan her empty glass, then the guys left the booth and walked to the bar, which was on the opposite end of where their table was.

Only Jamia and Frank were left in the booth, Frank tapped his fingers on the table to the music, the lights in the bar flashed a gorgeous royal blue color. Jamia had something on her mind that she could only talk about when it was just her and Frank, no one else. 

"Can you hear me?" Jamia asked, she tapped Frank on the shoulder. 

"Do I have to pee? No I don't, thanks for asking though." 

"No," she giggled and spoke a little louder, "Can you hear me?"

"Oh, yeah, you just gotta speak louder. This music is fucking loud as hell in here, it's good, but loud."

"So uh, can I ask you a question? Please don't tell Gee."

"What? Jamia...I can't keep secrets from her, you know that." He turned to face her, scooting away slightly. 

"Whoa I'm not askin' to suck your dick or anything."

"Then what?"

"You really love her, don't you? I just get reminded of what we used to have and I feel like there might still a chance for us. I don't want to miss out on that." 

"Jamia...I told you this, there's nothing left. We weren't compatible, I love Gee more than anything; I never thought I could love anyone as much as I love her and nothing will ever change that." He sighed. "You're my friend, I care about you and shit but we won't ever be more than that."

"I'm sorry for asking I just, needed closure. Gee was talking about a few of your little quirks and it made me think about how we used to laugh about them."

"You're good. I just think you've got to move on, you know? Maybe you can find yourself a boyfriend or girlfriend, you deserve to be happy, Jamia. Just because we aren't dating anymore, doesn't mean that I don't want the best for you." He smiled softly at her, he rested his chin in the palm of his left hand. "Jamia?"

"Yes?"

"Was Gee talking about my morning poop? Because she thinks it's funny that I get grumpy in the morning before I've taken a poop, but I've told her that it's a real thing, pooping in the morning makes you feel so much better."

"Yes she was." Jamia giggled, her voice sweet. Frank laughed at that, his cute little weed laugh. The boys came back around with the food and drinks, and they made sure that the cosmo didn't have a toothpick but a plastic sword with the fruit skewered on, to Frank's relief. 

Evan also brought around shots of tequila for them to drink, complete with wedges of freshly sliced limes coated in sea salt. On the count of three, they all took a shot and then bit into the lime to counteract the flavor of the strong booze. They all groaned and slammed the shot glass down on the table, their faces contorted in disgust. 

Ed took that as an opportunity to take a photo of all of them with their faces all fucked up. He posted it to his Instagram and tagged them all, the caption read; Tequila shots with the Cellabration! Tour starts tomorrow, we're coming for you, United Kingdom. with jamianestor, frankieromustdie, dickdouglas, & mattolson.

The best photo for tour promotion, he thought, and he was entirely correct on that judgement. Frank thought the photo was hilarious, Jamia thought that she would have some of her students see it and have a bad feeling about her but fuck it, she thought.  
-  
More drinks were ordered and plenty of food was eaten during the duration of their time at the bar, they at one point had a contest of who could catch the most peanuts in their mouths and the winner didn't have to contribute to the bar tab. 

Frank wasn't the winner, which was surprising because he was really good at catching things, including mono and various illnesses. Evan actually won, he caught fifteen peanuts consecutively while the others could barely manage five. So the bar tab of nearly $400 was paid all by Frank, Jamia, Ed, and Matt. Evan basically said fuck you all! At them. 

The conversation that Jamia and Frank had previously was long forgotten, between the alcohol and the fun they all had, just pushed it to the back of their heads. 

At one point, they all ended up on the dance floor, Frank tried to waltz dance with Evan during an Arctic Monkeys song, but they stumbled over their own two feet in the process. The last time Frank even attempted a waltz was at his wedding, even then he accidentally stepped on Gee's toes a few times. 

None of them were drunk, they all had plenty of food in their bellies so soak up the booze. It was time for them to leave soon, Gee had texted Jamia to let her know that the house was all set up for the party, the pizza had arrived, drinks were set out, it looked very good in the home. 

The band still didn't know about the party, and Jamia wanted to keep it that way. She tried her hardest to not spill the beans on the way back to their home, it almost slipped out but she managed to keep it inside. Frank caught on that she was hiding something, but he didn't know exactly for sure what it was.

They pulled into the driveway, Frank got out of the car first, Jamia followed and the rest of the band were behind them. Jamia told them to be super quiet because Gee said she would be taking a nap, and they all nodded in acknowledgment and turned on their silencers. 

Jamia opened the front door and it was dark, all of the band members walked in behind her and once the door was closed, Jamia turned on the light, Gee, Anthony, Kyle, Frank's parents, Amy, a few friends, and the pets came out from the kitchen, yelling Surprise!, they all had party hats on, including the animals. 

The entryway had streamers and confetti on the floor, they all were dressed in Frank's merch, hoodies and tee shirts. The bands logo was created on the wall with confetti, 

"What's this?!" Frank gasped, a smile on his face. "Mom? Dad?" 

"A going away party for the cellebration! I had the idea the other night, so Anthony, Jamia, your parents and I all planned this together. We have a group chat,"

"No way, you have a group chat with my parents!" He exclaimed, then ran over to Gee to hug her. He gave her a big kiss and hugged her tightly, a big smile on his face. The boys were all surprised, yet very excited about the sudden occasion. Gee could taste mint gum on his breath, he must've coveted the taste of alcohol up on the way back from the bar. 

Anthony popped off a confetti gun, more of the colorful pieces of paper fell to the ground. It startled Gee a little but of course it would startle anyone. 

"There's pizza, drinks, snacks, and cupcakes all in the kitchen. There's vegan and non-vegan pizza, they're labeled." Anthony said. 

"And ice cream!" Kyle exclaimed, his hands in the air. 

They all giggled at the little boy, they thought he was so adorable. Everyone made their way into the kitchen to eat, Gee turned on the radio and had a playlist of all of the songs that the band loved. 

Everyone seemed to be having a very good time, they talked, laughed and smiled. Frank and Gee sat together on the couch, her feet were propped up on the coffee table with a paper plate on her tummy, the bump made a perfect table. They sort of distanced themselves from the crowd in order to spend as much time together before she had to take him to the airport.

"You're fucking incredible, did you know that? Like, I come home from enjoying delicious cosmopolitans and my wife threw a party for me?"

"I didn't want today to be a sad, gloomy day. You're going on your first European tour with your band, living out your dream, that deserves a celebration." She said, smiling, a piece of pizza crust in her hand. "Mouse, anything you do is worth a party."

"This is just...incredible. Thank you, Jiggy." He leaned over and kissed her nose. His hand went under her chin when he moved to kiss her lips, her soft lips that tasted like chapstick. They kissed for longer than what they expected, but it was so good, their lips together, moving in sync with the others, it was a moment they always loved and savored.

Gee pulled away though, she made a noise of discomfort and Frank immediately asked what was wrong. She moved her plate and focused on her tummy, her hand rested on the left side for a few seconds, then she felt the baby move. It's body pressed against the palm of her hand.

"A baby is moving!" Gee said and looked at Frank. Frank's eyes immediately lit up, he put his hand on her tummy as well, he almost immediately feels the baby move. They looked at each other with happy eyes and a smile on their faces, it was a beautiful moment, feeling their child move inside of her was just, amazing. It was a key that made the day so much brighter and happier than they thought it would be. 

Frank's hand was on top of Gee's as they felt the baby move, he didn't move for very long, it seemed that he was just adjusting his position in the womb, but they still got to feel him move! 

When he stopped moving, they took their hands away. Frank was still stunned by it. He looked at his hand and had a moment, thinking that he felt his baby through his wife's belly. It was just another incredible thing that Gee had done for him, obviously it was not even comparable to a party but it was on the list, way at the top of the list. Number 2, is where it sat, number one was marrying him because Frank knew that he was a fucking wildcard. 

On the couch, they still sat and ate their food. At least until Anthony came around and hit Frank on the side of his face with a iced cupcake, to which Frank responded with what the fuck, man. He laughed though, then scraped the icing off of the side of his face and ate it like an animal, all while giving Anthony the middle finger. Anthony pulled his phone out at that point, and took a photo of the three of them. All with their party hats and icing on Frank's face. 

Lots of photos were taken during that time, a group photo, candids, selfies, all kinds were taken. Time seemed to be non existent, all that mattered was having fun and partying until they couldn't party no more. Cigarette butts were in the fruit punch, vomit was in one of Gee's succulent plants, and a part of the streamers were caught on fire by the time Jamia's watch went off. 

Everything stopped with the sound of a record scratching, the dreaded time that Frank was due to leave for the airport had finally came. When that alarm went off, it felt like everything in the world stopped and the only sound that could heard was that horrible sound of Jamia's watch. 

"Alright guys, party's over. It's time that the cellabration and I head to the airport." Jamia announced. 

"Why don't we have one last toast to the band, wishing them good luck on this tour." Gee jumped in, a can of soda in her hand. It would be quick, so everyone picked up a drink. 

"Here's to the cellabration, a band that Frank created to make himself happy and to live out his dream of being a musician, and to the boys for helping him accomplish that. To them!"

"To them!" Everyone repeated and raised their glasses in unison, and took a drink to celebrate the occasion. Almost immediately after the toast, the boys were all hugged and wished good luck from the guests, it was a very heartwarming moment for all, a farewell from family and friends before such a big thing like a United Kingdom tour. The very first tour of that nature was such a big accomplishment for the band, and my god they were excited. 

They left the home with cheers following them, Frank and Gee went into her car, and Jamia and the others got into Jamia's car as she would be leaving it at the airport until it was time to come back home to New Jersey. From there, they made the long drive to Newark International Airport where five out of the six people would board a plane to England.  
-  
On the drive to the airport, Gee choked back tears because she knew she wouldn't be seeing Frank for a long time. Three weeks was way too long, their hearts ached more and more with every step they took towards the doors of the airport.

Gee helped him with the check in of his luggage and getting his boarding pass, she was allowed to go down to TSA with Frank, but obviously she didn't have a boarding pass so she couldn't go through TSA to wait at the gate with him. Gate passes weren't issued at that type of airline, unfortunately, but it would be better off that way so Gee could go back home and rest, she wasn't supposed to be away from home for too long. 

They were at the top of the escalators that would go down to TSA, it was their final goodbye. Tears were already in their eyes before anything was even said, they knew it would be hard. 

"I guess this is goodbye." Gee said, her voice already shaking a little, she told hold of Frank's hands. "I'm really going to miss you, Mouse. The babies will miss you, too."

"I'll miss the four of you even more, Jiggy, you're right in front of me and I miss you already." 

"Oh boy, this is a lot harder than I thought it would be." Tears already welled in her eyes, her lips quivered as she fought them back. 

"It's okay, baby, come here." His voice was soft as he pulled her into a hug, his chin rested on her shoulder and hers was on his, "I'll be home soon, I'll still be next to you even if I'm not physically there. If you don't want me to go, I'll stay back in Jersey."

"I'm not going to be the one to stop you from doing what you love, you need to go to England, Frankie. This is what you have been working for and I'll be damned if I get in the way with that. I'm just going to miss you so fucking much." She sniffled, her heart wrenching in her chest. "The triplets and I will be thinking of you always, I'll be sure to keep up with twitter."

"If anything happens with the triplets or you go into labor, please call me as soon as the first contraction happens or your water breaks. I'll be on the first plane home, I don't care how many shows I have to cancel, you'll always come first."

"I don't know I'm going what to do without you, Mouse." tears now streamed down her face.

"Neither do I, but we can Skype and figure something out. I know we can." he pulled away to look in her eyes with his own tear filled.

"Please be safe out there, okay?"

"I will. I'll being you back foreign tea and socks from every city we go to, I promise." he let go of her hands and placed his own on her belly, "and as for you three, don't come out until I step foot in Jersey again. Daddy loves all three of you so much, and I can't wait to meet you all, just stay put until I'm home."

Gee cried a little harder at that, It was a real goodbye she had to face, and she knew Frank had to leave very soon and she didn't want him to be late for his plane; so they had to wrap it up as much as she didn't want to. 

"I think it's time for me to go, Jiggy." he said as he looked at his watch. Tears dropped from his eyes and landed on his forearm. 

"Oh god." she cried, "Mouse.."

"It's okay, Gee! I'll be back home in no time." he cupped her cheeks with his hands, his thumbs wiped away her tears. "Everything will be okay, Anthony is there Incase anything happens."

Frank leaned in to kiss her, his lips against hers. It was long and sweet, they wanted it to last long because it would be their last one for three weeks. "I love you so much, Mouse." She muttered against his lips, "I love you more, Jiggy." he said back. 

The kiss transitioned into a hug, it was warm and long, but it couldn't last forever. Frank kissed her lips, her nose, and her forehead last time. "Goodbye, darling." he sniffled, he wiped tears from his cheek with his sleeve.

"Goodbye, Mouse." Gee stuttered, her heart shattered into a million pieces. Frank blew her a kiss before he stepped onto the escalator, slowly drifting away from her. She watched him go down the stairs, hot tears fell from her face.

"I love you, Mouse." She whispered through broken cries, but Frank didn't hear her, he was too far away. He already made it down to the security guards and was handing him his papers. Gee could tell that Frank was crying, but he tried to hide it in front of the guards, knowing that he was crying made her cry harder. 

Gee wanted so badly to run after him and follow him to England but she couldn't, she physically couldn't and that's what hurt the most, she couldn't be there for him in the most important part of his career so far and had to be stuck at home in her bed without him. When he got through TSA and was seen walking with the band to the gates, Gee turned around and walked to the doors, her head was down as she cried. 

Saying goodbye to Frank was the hardest thing she had to do, even though he would be back in three weeks, it was just hard for her to let go of him for that long. In her car she sat for a while, crying and missing Frank already it hadn't even been ten minutes at that point but that didn't matter. It was the fact that he wouldn't be home for a long time, three weeks was just too long. 

Gee drove home with a piece of her heart missing, she had to pull herself together enough to drive normally and avoid a ticket of some sort, that made it one of the longest trip of her life. She felt numb almost, the heartache turned into numbness like it was just pumped full of novocaine. 

She entered the home that seemed so cold with a heavy, numb heart. Party decorations were all fallen on the floor and it just looked depressing, which really matched her mood. Anthony poked his head out from the kitchen, a black trash-bag in his hands. He didn't know what to say to her, so he just let her go up to her bedroom. 

However, once he got the majority of the mess cleaned up, he made her a cup of tea that he knew she loved, and fixed her a bowl of sugared cranberries, he took them both up to her bedroom. The doors were unlocked, so he gently opened the door to reveal a pitch black room. 

"Hey, Kiddo. How're you holding up?" quietly he asked. 

"He's gone, Anthony. My husband hasn't been gone for an hour yet and I already miss him so fucking much." Gee cried, her voice muffled from the blankets. 

"I'm sorry, kid. I brought you up some tea and cranberries, to kind of cheer you up."

"No thank you. I just wanna be alone right now, I'm sorry."

"I'll leave it in here for you. I'm right next door if you need me for anything." he felt his way through the room to put the items on her nightstand. "I'll come back to check on you in a bit. It'll be alright, Gee, Frank will be back home soon."

"I just miss him already. He'll be on a completely different continent, what if something happens with the babies?"

"He has a plane ticket on hand just Incase he's gotta fly home. I know it's hard, but it'll all be just fine. You can still Skype and text him, even though he won't be here physically." Anthony sat on the bed next to her, his hand went to her side. "Is this okay? Because I know we look and sound the same, I don't want to upset you anymore."

"It's okay." her voice was muffled by her blanket. "Thank you. Hey uh, Anthony?"

"Mhm?"

"Could you bring Mitch in, and maybe light the fireplace? I don't want my pillows to get fucked up."

"'Course." he nodded. Mitch was already outside of the door, waiting to come in. He ran in between Anthony's legs and bolted to jump on the bed, he found his place next to Gee and curled in a ball. Anthony took a lighter and lit the fireplace, it added more light to the very dark room.

It became cozy in there, Gee was comfortable but her heart was still broken, like a part of it was on a plane that was headed to the United Kingdom. It was only her first night without him out of many, everything was going to change. Their hearts were still connected by an invisible line that stretched for thousands of miles and wouldn't break, regardless how far it was stretched but it certainly felt strained.

Gee cried herself to sleep that night, alone in her bed with no one except a grey tabby and a New Jersey devils blanket that Frank always slept with. It had a scent of his cologne and chocolate cookies because he routinely ate Oreos in bed. Sleeping with his blanket comforted her a little bit, a piece of him was there with her but it didn't fix the ache in her heart. Gee knew that it wouldn't be gone until Frank came back home. But that wouldn't be for a very long time.


	37. The Fear Is Over

June 7-8th, 2010

Two days left before Frank returned from tour, and Gee couldn't wait much longer to see him walk through the front doors of their home, with his overly packed bags and a bright smile on his face. It had been three weeks that Frank was gone, touring in the United Kingdom with his band an Jamia, who had accompanied them to take some beautiful photos of the band and their adventures in the country. Communication between Frank and his wife was shaky at first, bad reception had burdened them for the first few days but had sorted itself out after a few days. 

Gee hit the day that officially marked her 35 weeks pregnant, and three days away from delivering her and Frank's children to finally become parents, nine long months of waiting had come and gone and it was just about time for them to have the official title of Mom and Dad. The last few weeks of her pregnancy had been very uncomfortable, especially in the dead of summer in New Jersey, and the overwhelming anxiety of giving birth put a lot of stress on her shoulders. 

Anthony still stayed at the home to help out, Gee felt like such a burden to him and tried to do things on her own, but he told her that she was supposed to stay on bed rest as she was in the most critical stage of her pregnancy that could result in premature labor, it would be normal for her to go into labor sometime that week but they were both trying to avoid that as Frank was not back at the house yet. Those babies had to stay put for two more days, just two more. It was hard to believe that almost 300 days had gone by of her pregnancy and was slowly coming to an end. Frank was over the moon excited about it, he constantly called her to make sure she was doing okay, he had also suddenly become so protective and overly concerned. 

At one point during a Skype, Gee sneezed and Frank gasped and had to check on her, despite it just being a sneeze - he had read somewhere that sneezes can cause her water to break. He checked on her daily to be sure she wasn't moving vigorously, eating spicy foods, even masturbating because all of them could induce labor, at one point he even said "As much as I love the image of you getting off, no masturbating! Orgasms can induce your labor and we can't risk that." She thought it was really cute on how he was so cautious, he really cared and so did she. 

The day was June 7th, mid afternoon, Gee was in her room, laying in her bed with her mountain of pillows to keep herself comfortable, and on the phone with Frank. He was just about to get on stage, he had about forty minutes before his set was supposed to start so he took that time; as he usually did, to call Gee to check up on her and the babies. 

"How are you feeling, darling? Are the babies good?" His voice was warm, obviously excited. 

"My back really hurts today, it must be my scoliosis acting up or that stupid slipped disc. The babies are doing really good, though, Cherry is moving around a lot and kicking the absolute shit out of my rib cage."

"I'm sorry bout' that, it's almost over though. Three more days! I'll be back home in two."

"I can't wait, mouse. I miss you a lot, so do the babies. How have the meet and greets been going?"

"They've been fucking rad as hell, I've met so many incredible people while doing. There was this girl the other night in Warwick, I think her name was Nads, I came out with the band and she fucking screamed when she saw me. Like, I could tell she was nervous and excited about the show, and she gave me candy! Those fucking delicious jalapeno m&m's." 

"Holy shit, she screamed? I mean, I don't blame her, I scream on the inside a little every time I see you."

"Yeah! Nads screamed Oh my god!, it was fucking funny and it made me feel good knowing that she was that excited to see me. That's just so cool, Gee! People actually like me, even in a different country."

"Of course they would, Mouse, you're so amazing and everyone love will you- Son of a bitch!" she suddenly gasped, a sharp pain shot through her body. 

"What was that?" he asked, slightly startled.

"A dumb Braxton hicks contraction. They've been happening all fucking morning, they hurt like a motherfucker, I guess it's because we're so close to the due date that they're worse."

"Maybe give Florence a quick ring, just so you can get some advice on how to deal with them, especially if they're worse than they used to be." 

"Nah, I'll be fine. I'm gonna take a bath and pray that these sons of bitches go away, I need a nap, and a cheeseburger. Frankie, I really want a cheeseburger with pickle faces and sweet potato fries."

"I promise I'll make you one as soon as I come home, we'll have one last dinner as a family of two. Sort of like, a last hurrah before the babies come. Darling - I've gotta go, it's almost time to go on. I love you, and please call Florence if they get worse."

"No promises!" she giggled, "But I love you too, Mouse. Have fun tonight." 

They said their last goodbyes, and then hung up. Gee tossed her phone to the side and adjusted her position on her bed, the level of uncomfortableness just went through the roof - regardless of how much she adjusted the pillows or herself for that matter, her back screamed and those Braxton hicks contractions were god awful. At a point, she gave up trying to get comfortable and retreated to her bathroom, where she ran an almost too hot bath to soothe her pain. 

The warm water felt incredible on her back, almost comparable to an orgasm as a matter of fact. Anthony came up to check on her, he came into the bathroom - given permission by Gee, as she wasn't naked, she had a bikini top on and bottoms as she didn't feel like taking a real bath. 

Gee mentioned to Anthony that she felt like absolute shit that morning, and he jokingly said that she was in labor, she rolled her eyes yet felt a bit of fear in her gut. Maybe it would be a good idea to give Florence a quick ring just to get confirmation that she was just experiencing Braxton Hicks. Once Anthony left, Gee pulled out her phone and called Florence. 

"Hey, Florence, it's Gee Way."

"Oh, hey there. Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, it's all good. My back has just been awful all morning and those Braxton Hicks contractions are horrible. I just wanted to call you and be sure that they are just Braxton Hicks, my brother in law joked about it but I'm not due for another three days."

"Has your water broken? Are your contractions regular?"

"No. It hasn't broken yet - and well, I guess but isn't that how Braxton Hicks are supposed to be? They're like, 8 minutes apart but they'll go away."

"I think you'll be just fine - just stay in bed and if the contractions are more frequent, the pain gets unbearable, or your water breaks, call me and then I'll meet you up at the hospital. Sound good?" 

"Yeah, definitely. Thanks for that, Frank's not back yet and I most certainly don't want to give birth without him here."

Florence assured her that the babies wouldn't be there until Friday, and that she should just take it easy from now on. Gee got out of the bath, as much as she didn't want to because it was so warm, dried herself off, and changed into a cool pair of pajamas, and went back to bed.

The air conditioning blasted in the room, she felt incredibly hot and the contractions only seemed to get worse as time went on. Trying to nap in that room - or at that point in time, was close to impossible. Every time she seemed to get comfortable, another contraction would hit. Each one felt like a chainsaw gone haywire inside of her tummy, all of the muscles cramped and throbbed in agonizing pain. She moaned in pain and tried to breathe through them, but overtime it became increasingly difficult. 

Maybe, she thought, maybe it wouldn't hurt to go up to the emergency room to get something to stabilize the pain. Something that wouldn't make trigger her addiction, surely they must have something up there. Plus, it wasn't actual labor so she wouldn't have to be there for very long, hell - she could even run up to the local pharmacy and pick a little something up.

Gee groaned and forced herself out of bed, the pain became a lot worse when she stepped out of bed and stood up, it almost brought her to her knees and took her breath away. The lady threw on a tee shirt, and waddled out of her room. She walked through the hall and heading down even the stairs, but as soon as she stepped onto the floor below the last step, it happened. A giant stream of fluid gushed out of her and created a puddle between her legs,

At first, she thought that she might've pissed on accident, but it dawned on her. Her water just fucking broke, two days before Frank was supposed to come home. Everything shifted into a moment of sheer panic, Frank wasn't home, and she has just gone into labor. Thoughts raced through her mind before she suddenly cried out for Anthony, he would know what to do.

"Anthony!" Gee screamed, she stood in place by the stairs, her legs shaking. Anthony came flying out from the living room, obviously worried. The first thing he noticed was the puddle between her legs, the wetness on her legs and on her shorts. 

"Oh my god- it's okay, it happens to a lot of pregnant women. Just, go upstairs and clean up, alright?" 

"What?"

"I- uh, that's pee? I think?" 

"No!" She cried, "that's amniotic fluid, my fucking water just fucking broke."

"Gee, you've lost me- I don't know about pregnancy let alone women! I'm a gay man for fucks sake!"

"Anthony. I'm in labor. These babies are coming soon and Frank's not home yet and I don't know what to do without him!" She cried, tears in her eyes. 

"Oh god, oh. Okay - uh, I'll call Jamia, Frank's probably on stage right now but Jamia will deliver the message."

"What if he doesn't come back in time? It's a four hour flight from England to here, I'm scared that I'll dilate fast and they'll be born without him here."

"I promise that he will be back, alright? Go upstairs and change, I'm gonna go call Jamia."

"Can I shower? I'm covered in amniotic fluid."

"We don't have time, we've gotta get you up to the hospital. Just change and I'll clean this up."

"I'm taking a shower. It'll buy us some time, I won't have to give birth if I'm still at the house. Until Frank boards a plane, I am not leaving this fucking house."

Anthony didn't think that her delaying going to the hospital was a good idea, not at all, but he respected her wishes and allowed her to go upstairs and shower. It must've been uncomfortable to have that yucky fluid everywhere, and a shower was a good idea in that time. 

Once Gee went upstairs, Anthony gathered some cleaning supplies and his phone so he could call Jamia. Jamia missed the first call that frustrated Anthony, he couldn't think of anyone else to fall because everyone was on stage, so he tried Jamia's phone once again. Luckily she picked up, it was hard to hear her because Frank was playing in the background.

"Jamia- Hey, it's Anthony. Uh, where's Frank? I tried calling him but he's not answering. It's kind of an emergency."

"He's on stage. What's going on?"

"Gee just went into labor. She's refusing t9 go to the hospital until Frank's on his way back from England."

"I'm sorry, what? She's labor? How do you know?"

"I'm cleaning up her amniotic fluid right now. She came down the stairs and then just burst like a fuckin' water balloon."

"Oh my god. I don't know what to do, do I stop the show?"

"Yes. Jamia, he's got to get here."

"I'm gonna put you on hold for a second while I grab Frank, alright?"

"Just hurry up, I don't think stalling is a good idea." He sighed, the phone sandwiched between his head and shoulder. Anthony waited for Jamia to return with Frank, the music in the background swirl came to a stop and soon Frank picked up the phone. 

"Anthony? What's going on?"

"Gee's water just broke, she's in labor and won't go to the hospital because she wants you to be here. How soon can you get to the airport?"

"Hold on, Gee's in labor?!" Frank gasped in disbelief, he thought for a hot moment that Anthony was just fucking around with him. 

"Yes, dumbass, she's in labor and you need to get your ass back to New Jersey."

"Holy shit- She's in labor!" He practically screamed in excitement. "Tell Gee to get her ass to the hospital, I'll meet her there. I'm leaving the venue now and will be at the airport within the next thirty minutes, I bought a ticket that's for a plane that gets to Jersey super fuckin fast so I'll be there in time for the babies. Holy shit the babies are coming!"

"I'll go tell her, I'll be sure to text you her room number and keep you posted. Will you have service on the plane? Or WiFi?"

"I should. Please just remember, alright? I'm gonna go tell everyone and then I'll leave for the airport." Frank said.   
He and Anthony hung up shortly after, and he was still in disbelief that Gee was in labor! It scared him and excited him at the same time, he worried that her labor would progress quickly or his flight would be delayed, but he didn't have time to worry about that. He needed to get everything together and make it to the airport quickly. 

Frank gave Jamia her phone, and then ran back out to the stage and stood in front of the microphone. "Could I have everyone's attention, please?" he said, and everyone went silent. "I'm truly sorry but we have to end the show right now, I just got a call from my brother back in New Jersey and my wife just went into labor! So, I've gotta get the airport. I've asked Jamia to join me, so Evan will take over on merch and I've told him to compensate all of you with a free, signed copy of stomachaches. Thank you for understanding."

Those in the crowd screamed and cheered for him, they were very excited to hear that his babies would be arriving soon. It was soon after he made the announcement, that he ran off of stage with Jamia by his side. They hopped into the car outside of the venue, Frank's bags already in there just for them to be in hand. 

Jamia took the drivers position because Frank didn't trust himself to drive with the amount of excitement flowing through his body. As soon as Jamia began driving, Frank told her that she needed to stop because he was going to vomit, so he leaned out of the side of the car and vomited on the road, everything he had eaten that day just spilled from his mouth and onto the pavement. 

"Frank, are you okay? Do you need some club soda for your tummy?" Jamia asked, she handed him a few napkins to wipe his mouth. 

"I'm okay, just fucking excited. Jamia, I'm gonna be a dad!" He exclaimed. Tears were in his eyes, both from excitement and fear. "Like, holy shit Jamia, it feels like we just found out that she was pregnant and now it's time for her to give birth. I just can't believe it. Can you pinch me? I think I'm dreaming." 

"I'm not pinching you. You're not dreaming and we're on our way to the airport." She giggled. "I'm going to get you some soda for your belly, I don't want you to vomit anymore."

"I'll be okay, really, just get us to the airport, I don't want to waste time, I'll get some on the plane." Jamia looked at him with a doubtful expression, but she just continued to drive to the airport as Frank wished. 

Frank wouldn't stop fidgeting in the car, he would bounce his legs, chew his nails, tap his fingers, check his phone a million times, or bite his lip. There was no way that he could stay still when within the next few hours, he would be able to meet the babies he had created. Jamia thought that his excitement was cute, she knew he was excited and she was happy to be able to be a part of that, just a little. The airport was thirty minutes from the venue, but at least traffic was not bad on the way to the destination. When they made it to the airport and dropped their car off at the rental place, Frank felt a strange urge to just yell to the world and announce the fact he was going to be a father. 

So, with their bags in hand in front of the airport's doors, Frank took the opportunity to do what he needed to do. Jamia noticed that he suddenly stopped walking and stood still, she just assumed that his nerves got bad again and he was going to hurl.

"Jamia, there's something that I need to do." 

"Oh no, are you gonna vomit again? There's a trash can right there-"

"No, that's not what I'm doing, but you might want to cover your ears." Jamia was confused at his odd request, but it was Frank and within the years that they dated, she just got used to his strange behavior. 

Frank turned around to face England, he looked into the sky and screamed with his entire heart, "I'm going to be a fucking Dad!"he screamed, startling those around him by the sudden scream. His voice echoed in the sky, but Frank felt a sense of relief after letting that out. Those around him were confused for a second, but soon clapped and congratulated him on the announcement, a few thought that Jamia was the mother since she was with Frank, and Jamia picked up on that and tried to shake it off. If only, she thought.

Once Frank let out his scream, they went into the airport to get their boarding passes and go through TSA. their flight was nearly five hours long, but they were hoping that there wouldn't be any delays that would make them late. They did make it through TSA and to their gate with minimal time to spare, Jamia purchased some snacks from the concession stand so they could have something to munch on, especially Frank because he vomited on the way to the airport. She also bought lattes with extra espresso as he would be in for a long night, labor and delivery wasn't typically a quick process but it was still good to be there with time to spare.   
-  
"Alright, they just boarded the plane. We can leave now, get your shoes." Anthony said to Gee, they both sat on the couch waiting news from Frank. 

"Don't fuck with me, Anthony. I'm not getting in that car if Frank's not on the plane." She groaned, trying to catch her breath from another painful contraction. 

"Jamia just texted me, they just boarded the plane and are en route to come back home. It's time for us to leave, they've gotta check on you. Did you call the baby lady?"

"The What?"

"What Jamia is. Don't you have one of those?"

"You mean a midwife. Fuck, I need to call Florence. Give me the phone please."

"Not until were in the car, stop stalling."

"You're stalling!" She snapped. "Sorry, I'm in a lot of pain. These son of a bitches -"

"Get. In. The. Car." He cut her off, a pair of her shoes in his hand. "The hospital bag is in the trunk, it'll take us fifteen minutes to get to the hospital."

"Fine." She groaned and picked up the shoes. She gave Anthony a dirty look while doing so, Gee knew that not only she had to trust Anthony, but had to get up to the hospital ASAP so the babies could be checked on. 

They didn't have to worry about Kyle because he stayed the night at Linda's. Anthony had already given Linda a call to let her know about the situation, and would be meeting them up at the hospital within a short period of time. Gee took her time putting her shoes on so she didn't have to go to the hospital right away, but Anthony watched her like a hawk until they were both on. He helped her out to the car; laid down a few towels on the passenger side of the car just Incase more amniotic fluid gushed out of her, and then they were off to the hospital to have some babies.

Gee's contractions became worse on the way to the hospital, trying to talk to Florence let alone focus was extremely hard when pain would just shoot through her body every five minutes. It was excruciating, and could be easily labeled as the worst pain Gee had ever felt, next to when she tore a ligament in her ankle on her honeymoon. 

Anthony had to run into the hospital to get a wheelchair for her because of the pain. He wheeled her into the ER, both were excited and anxious about the birth because the next time they left the hospital, Gee would officially be a mother, and Anthony an uncle. The nurse there took Gee's information, and they were rushed up to Labor and Delivery.

The nurse had Gee change into a hospital gown, then Gee was taken to a suite in the maternity ward. The room was fairly large, it had a pullout bed for Frank, three baby beds all with diapers, hats, and blankets all set up for when they made their grand appearance, the walls were a soft shade of pink and the floors were hardwood. The bed had stirrups at the end, collapsed. There, Gee was hooked up to at least five different machines. One to measure her heart rate, (EKG), one was a deluge that went around her tummy that measured the heartbeats of the babies, and one that kept track of her contentions, and an IV. Gee's cervix was checked and was at 6 centimeters, which meant that she still had four more to go before she was able to push. 

"You're at 6 centimeters dilated. I'll go let your doctor know that you're ready for an epidural." The nurse said, taking off her gloves. 

"Yeah, I can't have an epidural."

"It'll decrease your pain significantly, are you sure that you don't want one?"

"Positive. Not only am I scared of needles, but I'm an ex drug addict so that will surely cause me to relapse."

"You're a strong woman. Good for you." She smiled at Gee, sweetly. "I think that we might start you on pitocin to get things rolling, which means that you'll have your babies here within the next few hours."

"Hold on - my husband isn't here yet. He's on a plane to come back home and I wanna wait, can we wait?"

"Waiting isn't a good idea, those babies are on their way to come out. That being said, it's only three in the afternoon and we don't expect for your babies to be born until after midnight. You'll have plenty of time before they come."

"Oh thank god." She sighed in relief, it was a huge weight off of her shoulders to know that Frank would definitely be back in time. Gee almost started to cry because that had been such a worry since he announced the tour. 

Frank didn't know that yet, but he would find out when he got there. The only problem that Gee had to face was that she was hungry, and she wasn't allowed to eat while she was in labor for numerous reasons. Even though she would have to push three babies out of her vagina, she really needed a snack. The medication they had her on made her even more hungry, but the only thing she could eat was ice chips as appetizing as those were. 

To make it worse, Anthony came waltzing in with a bag of peanut m&ms and a milkshake. Gee scowled at him when she noticed the candy, but Anthony didn't grasp onto the fact she wasn't allowed to eat anything, so he offered her a handful of m&ms.

"Here you go, here's some candy." he held out his hand for her, an assortment of colored candies in his palm.

"I can't eat m&ms!" She groaned, "I can't eat anything but these dumb ice chips that taste like pure nothingness."

"Oh, I'm sorry I didn't know that. I'll eat enough for the two of us."

"Thanks." She mumbled. "Have you heard from Frankie, or Jamia?"

"Well Jamia messaged me, she said that there's about two hours left to their flight, and apparently Frank both vomited and announced to the country of England that he was going to be a father."

"Ha! That's hilarious." She snickered, "oh no-"

"What?"

"Contraction - ahh." She hissed, her face contorted in sheer pain. The muscles in her belly just contracted and gave her an irresistible urge to push, but she couldn't couldn't because it was still too early. Her hands gripped the rails of the bed tightly, she tried to breathe during the contraction but it was hard. 

Anthony didn't know what to do, he was sure what he could do, so he sat there quietly crunching on his m&ms. The bag crinkled and he crunched, the sounds mixed in with Gee's moans and groans. She didn't pay attention to it, but instead was focused on her own pain. Gee felt a sense of relief when it ended and entered a period of rest. 

"I've gotta move, moving will help with my pain." She slowly got out of bed, one hand on the IV pole. "I'm gonna bounce on the ball, it better fucking help." 

"Why is there like, a puppy pad on it? It looks like what we put on the floor our dog when we potty trained him."

"Amniotic fluid and blood is just, pouring out of my vagina. So for sanitary reasons. Can you play music? It'll distract me."

"Sure. What do you wanna listen to? Salt-N-Pepa?"

"Very funny. How long have you been waiting to make that joke?"

"Ever since you and Frank got married, I've always wanted you guys to have kids and I picked out the right song to play while you're in labor."

"You've been planning this for four years?" 

"Uh huh. Can I play it one time? It's been four years!" 

"Now or when I'm pushing these babies out?"

"When you're pushing them out, duh."

"I don't want my children to enter the world hearing Push It from Salt-N-Pepa."

"I'll play it now! They can still hear it from inside of your belly," he was genuinely excited to play that song, and Gee thought that it was both touching and a good distraction. So, Anthony pulled out his phone and played that horrible song. 

Anthony and Gee listened to Salt-N-Pepa while she bounced on that yoga ball to elevate the pain, but a few contractions hit while the dong played and Anthony thought that singing the song loudly would make her laugh, and forget about the pain, but it didn't. It did make her snicker a little, though. 

After a while, Gee went back to lay in bed to rest up. The doctor came in again to check her cervix and this time, she was at about 8 centimeters dilated, it was about 11 at night at that point so she had been in labor for eight hours. The pain got extremely worse over time, it was at the point where she shook and cried, all she wanted was Frank. 

On the topic of him, Anthony was sent out of the room to get her more ice chips from down the hallway. He was minding his own business until Frank came barreling down the hallway with his duffel back in hand and a guitar case in the other, he yelled Anthony's name, out of breath and his hair messy. 

"Anthony! Where's Gee?! Am I even own the right floor?" Frank panted. "Oh god, did she give birth yet? Please tell me that she didn't..."

"Holy shit you just scared the shit out of me," Anthony jumped, nearly dropping the cup of ice. "No, she didn't give birth yet, Gee's in room 929. Her name is-" he didn't even finish talking before Frank took off, looking over his shoulder to look at the numbers on the doors. 

Anthony smiled at that, he knew how happy and relieved gee would be when she saw Frank. Frank found her room and ran into that room like he was hiding from a herd of zombies, it startled Gee. She was in the midst of a contraction when Frank ran into the room, at first she didn't even notice him because she was focused on getting through that wave. She opened her eyes to see Frank at the door of her bed, his bags were dropped to the floor and his eyes welled with hot, salty tears. 

It hit him int hat exact moment that she was really in labor, and that it would only be a matter of a few hours before he would officially become a father. "Gee-"

"Frankie!" Gee cried out, she reached her arms out for him. Frank quickly pulled her into a warm embrace, they both cried, tears streamed down their faces, it was the first contact they had with each other for three weeks, and the fact that Frank was there for the birth, despite their fears that had burdened them. And they still had time to spare, as she was only eight centimeters dilated. 

It was a really sweet moment, they had each others company and touch after so long, and just at the right time, she was getting close to popping and Frank was there in time. He pulled away from the hug to cup her cheeks, and kiss her lips passionately. 

"Are you okay?" he asked her, looking over her face with worried eyes.

"I'm in some pain-"

"How dilated are you? What dilates? The vagina?"

"They just checked me, like, thirty minutes ago, and they'll be back in shortly to check me again. It's my cervix that dilates, not my vagina." she snickered a little. "Frankie, I'm so glad that you're here, I was scared shitless."

"Me too, Jiggy. We're about to be parents." Frank kissed her again, he put one hand on her tummy and kissed it, then he kissed her again.

They thought Anthony would be the one walking into the room, but it was the doctor. The Irish man with a lab coat ands baby pink gloves came in, he came in and sat on the stool in front of Gee. He instructed her to put her feet back in the stirrups so he could check her cervix again .

Frank sat next to her and held her hand in a comforting way, another contraction hit as the doctor checked her. It took him a few moments to check her and accurately measure her, he looked up with a bright look on his face. 

"Mrs.Iero, uh, I have some news."

"What?"

"You're 10 centimeters dilated, its time to push." he said, and their jaws dropped to the floor. They had no time to process it, Frank and just arrived and now it was time to deliver the babies, it was finally time after nine long months. The doctor adjusted the bed, turned on the bright lights of the room, and a herd of nurses came into the room to prepare the bassinets for the babies. 

Gee experienced such a horrible moment of panic because she didn't feel like she was able to do it. Ever since the beginning of her pregnancy, she didn't think that she was strong enough to give birth to those three babies. 

"Frankie?" Gee whined, her eyes filled with tears as she was being set up for delivery. 

"Gee, it's okay! You're going to do fine."

"I don't think I can do it - please, help me."

"You can, I believe in you. You're so fucking strong and I know that you can do this, alright? We'll meet our babies soon and it's all because of you. Jiggy, you've rocked this pregnancy like a champ and this is the last hurdle, I'm right here." he said with trusting eyes, his hand held hers tightly. Frank kissed her cheek softly. 

A nurse dressed in pink scrubs came over next to Gee, she was there to instruct Gee on when to push and how to do so. Frank brushed Gee's hair back and kissed her nose one last time. 

"You're gonna push on every contraction, it'll last for 10 seconds and then you can rest between each of them. You're going to push like you're having a bowel movement, focus the pressure on your lower half." She explained. Her eyes focused on the monitor that monitored the contractions, once she saw one begin to peak, she told Gee to push. 

Gee nodded, and began to push with all of her might. It hurt like a son of a bitch, it felt like so much pressure and hardness in her tummy. Everyone encouraged her to push while the nurse counted to ten, she tried her best to hold the push for ten seconds, towards the end it was a struggle but it was a huge feeling of relief when she was given a time to rest. Frank continued to hold her hand during that period of time, and next thing they knew, another contraction hit her like a brick. 

Another 10 seconds passed of pure agony, but the doctor told her that she was doing perfect and the first baby was on their way down the birth canal. He mentioned to them that he could feel their head, and with the next push, the head and shoulders would be out. He told Frank to look down if he wanted to see the baby's head come out, and of course he did. He didn't anticipate the amount of blood but it was normal for childbirth. Frank was able to see the head of the first baby come out, he couldn't see their face because they were turned around. 

"Alright, just one more big push, then the baby will be out, can you do that for me?" Dr. Emmett said, and Gee nodded. Her breathing was heavy and she had tears in her eyes from the pain, it hurt terribly but she tried to push through it, it would be over soon, the first baby is almost out and the next two would just slip right out of her like a slip n' slide. 

Gee took many deep breaths, rested, and prepared herself to push this baby out. Her hand gripped Frank's hand tightly as she felt her next contraction built up. Frank kissed her forehead and whispered, you can do it, Jiggy. Gee closed her eyes, and took one last deep breath before she pushed with all of her might, "Push Gee, push!" Frank encouraged her, he choked back tears , shaking with excitement. The seconds seemed to last like minutes, ten minutes rather than ten seconds passed, Gee could feel the baby just slip right out of her, everything else in the world was muted except for that, that's where her focus was on, to get the baby out and into this world. 

Everything was dark behind the lids of her own eyes, she couldn't hear anything but when the wails of a newborn baby cut the silence, her eyes shot open and saw the doctor hold up the baby with its umbilical cord still attached, covered in blood. The baby cried as she entered this world, Gee cried when she saw her daughter for the very first time. 

"Oh my god!" Gee cried out, hot tears spilled down her face. Frank was hardcore crying, but it was out of happiness. Neither of them were able to hold her yet, sh was whisked away to the bassinet for cleaning and vitals. She was beautiful, just from that quick glimpse they had of her, she looked absolutely gorgeous , she had Gee's cute little pixie nose. 

They both cried tears of joy over the birth of their first daughter, but that moment couldn't be dwelled on because they still had two more babies left inside of the womb. After she was born, Gee was overcome with this incredible power that helped her find the strength to push out the next two babies, it hurt like a son of a bitch but she knew she had to get it done, 

Though as she was pushing out the second baby, she sobbed and fell back on the bed, her body shook with pain. The nurse held a cold washcloth on her head. 

"I can't do this." Gee sobbed, hands shaking. "I'm so fucking sorry, Frankie, I just can't do it anymore." 

"Hey, hey," he whispered, "You can do this, you already delivered one baby, you can do it two more times. Our other baby is almost out, you can do this, and I'll bring you as many vegan cheeseburgers as I can possibly buy you, alright? You'e almost done, you've got this, Jiggy."

"It hurts so bad, I feel like I'm being torn in half. " she choked on her own tears. 

"Can we get her something for the pain? Something that isn't a narcotic or addictive."

"No! I can't, I'm an ex addict-"

"Gee.." Frank looked at her with worried eyes, "You've gotta do this, alright? Just a few more minutes, and you'll be all done, I promise."

"Can I rest, please? I need a breather."

"We've gotta get these babies out, you can do it." The doctor said, encouraging her. "Now push!" 

Gee pushed as hard as she could, crying out in pain as she did so. The nurse counted to ten once again, Gee tried to focus on giving birth to her second child but the only thing that went through her mind, was silent curses that triplets hadn't run in Frank's family. 

Frank held her hand tightly and helped her though the ten seconds, and during each resting period, he glanced over at the nurse that had been taking care of their daughter. It hurt him to see her in that much pain and the amount of blood she was losing, but it would be over very soon. 

Soon, their second baby, a boy, was delivered. They all cheered and cried at the birth of him, Frank was ecstatic to see his son in the flesh for the first time. Gee almost felt numb after delivering him, like she had no ounce of energy left inside of her but there was still one last baby to be delivered. 

"Frank?" She panted, looking over at him. 

"Yes?"

"I love you to death, but I'm really not a fan of you at this moment for getting me pregnant." She said, of course jokingly. Frank giggled at that, as did the rest of the folks in the room. 

"Mrs. Iero, there's one baby left in there. She's already halfway through the birth canal, I just need you to give me one big push and she'll be out."

"One more, Jiggy, and it'll be all over, then we can kiss our babies and hold them." 

Gee looked at him, took her last deep breaths, and pushed as hard as she could, Gee screamed as her body lurched forward, all of her strength went into her lower half. Frank encouraged her and practically jumped with excitement, the baby was soon out, and Frank was able to cut the umbilical cord like the other two. 

It was all over, it hit her when she heard her second daughter cry as she entered the world. The doctor announced the time of birth, all of the babies were born just a few minutes apart, Cherry was born first, Miles was second, and Lily was last, all were whisked away to be cleaned up, checked, and to get there little feet and hands inked. 

"You did it, darling." Frank praised her, he kissed her forehead and wipes her tears away with his thumbs. "We're parents now."

Gee didn't need to have stitches like some mothers had to, which was a fear that she had from the beginning. The placentas were delivered and taken to be dried and made into those pills, Gee was cleaned up from all of the blood and as was her bed. She was able to change into something more comfortable, a clean gown that had buttons on each side of her chest for breastfeeding. 

Then, they were able to hold their children for the very first time. Frank sat on the bed next to Gee, he held Miles while Gee held both of their daughters. Their little fingers held onto their parents', they were so cute and small, utterly perfect. 

It was a moment that Gee and Frank didn't ever imagine themselves being in, being able to see their own flesh and blood in front of them. That dream was crushed for them after they lost that baby, and were told that the chances of them having any others was close to impossible. But on that morning of June 8th, 2010; that dream became reality. 

"They're so perfect." Frank whispered, he looked down at his three babies. "I can't believe that I'm a Dad. Tense are my babies, our babies."

"I know, I'm so in love with them already." Replied Gee, she kissed Lily's forehead softly. 

"You're a fucking warrior, Gee, you did this. Pushing three humans out of your body, I admire you so much for that and I'm so proud to call you my wife."

"I couldn't have done it without you, you knocked me up." She chuckled, she rested her head on Frank's shoulder. 

"How are you feeling?"

"I'm tired, and hungry, and my vagina hurts a lot. But you know what, I'm okay with that, I've got my babies now." 

"I'll order pizza. I just wanna stare at the babies for a little bit longer, they're so stinking adorable." Frank said in awe, the babies looked so at peace. 

"Uh oh, I think Cherry needs fed. Can you maybe, unbutton this side of my gown? I'm gonna try and feed her." 

"So you're gonna put yo' tiddy in her mouth?" he asked, his free hand unbuttoned the left side of her gown, her breast was exposed.

"Yes." She snorted, she moved Cherry into a different position so she could latch. "Yeah - good girl."

"It would be so cool if I could breastfeed them, I wanna be able to bond with my babies too."

"That is until they bite your nipples. They don't have teeth yet but they will." she watched cherry as she ate, just to be sure that she didn't choke and was actually eating. "Frankie?"

"Hm?"

"Thank you. You made me a Mama and I'm just, so in love with the babies. It's only been an hour since they've been born but, they're the loves of my life already. I had babies with my best friend and I'm so happy, I really am."

Frank kissed her lips softly, and they both just looked at their babies. They could just stare at them all day, their faces were so beautiful and tiny, their skin was so soft and they smelled really good, it was truly an amazing moment that they wanted to savor for as long as they could, they never wanted it to end. 

That night, Frank and Gee were the only ones with the babies. Anthony went back to his Mother's home, he wanted to give the couple that night to themselves to spend time with their new babies. Frank ordered them dinner, and got them coffees, and they stayed in room 929 all morning. They laid and cuddled with their babies, the babies slept on them and barely made a noise unless they were hungry, needed changed or burped, but that was it, their first day alive was such a peaceful day for all five of them. Despite all of the pain that Gee went through, it was 100% worth it because in the end, she had the gift of her three babies. 

-

From the moment the babies were conceived back in October, to the moment where they came into this world with a fiery vengeance, so much had transpired. From Frank quitting his job as the CEO of a multi-million dollar instrument supplier and building a music career out of nothing, to Gee finding her Mother that faked her death, and becoming a comic book writer at one of the best comic publishing agency, they both overcame their Fear Of Trying , the fear of trying to become parents because of that horrible night in 2007. 

The pregnancy was not planned, but it was Gods way of testing their fate once again. The man up above the clouds believed that he needed to test them, to throw a pregnancy their way and allow them to get over that time that scarred their minds and hearts for many years. The pregnancy was the beginning of a brand new chapter in their lives, but it was time that they came over that fear. 

Three years later, their fear of trying was over. 

-

And that's a wrap, folks. 

This story is over. Thank you all for the support and helping me grow as a person throughout this journey, I'm incredibly thankful for it. Until we meet again in the sequel, prequel, or The Unfortunate, xoxo Mads.


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